1 Sam was reading the paper while his car was__________ (wash).

Passive Voice Explanation

The passive voice is used to show what is done to the subject of the sentence. It is formed using a form of the verb 'to be' + the past participle of the main verb.

Solution:

The original sentence is in the past continuous tense (was reading). To form the passive voice in the past continuous tense, we use 'was/were' + 'being' + past participle.

However, the sentence structure indicates that the action of washing happened to the car, not that the car was in the process of washing itself. Therefore, we need to use the simple past passive form.

• The verb is 'wash'.
• The past participle of 'wash' is 'washed'.
• Since the subject is 'car' (singular) and the tense is past, we use 'was'.

Therefore, the correct passive form is 'was washed'.

Answer: was washed