Question

Use the verb in the correct form, present simple or past simple, active or passive:
It’s a big factory. Five hundred people _____ (employ) there.
a- employ
b- employed
c- are employed
d- were employed

Answer 1

Hint: We use the simple present tense to indicate habits, facts, or general truths. It is used to indicate actions that take place at an unspecified time in the present.

Complete answer:
As given in the hint, any sentence given in the present tense would be in the passive voice.
For example- This is my house. Many utensils are kept in the kitchen. Here, we can see the use of the simple present tense and passive voice.
In the given question- We can conclude that five hundred people are employed there. Here, we have used the simple present tense to indicate a general truth or fact.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
Option a- ‘employ’ is an incorrect option because it lacks the use of an appropriate auxiliary verb.
Option b- ‘employed’ is an incorrect option because it is given in the past tense and it lacks the use of an auxiliary verb.
Option c- ‘are employed’ is the correct option because ‘are employed’ is given in the simple past tense form of the verb and it indicates a fact.
Option d- ‘were employed’ is an incorrect option because it is given in the past tense form of the verb. The correct answer is Option ‘c’.

Note:
The simple present tense is formed by joining the subject + is/am/are + 3rd form of the verb/ past participle + object. For example- Many gifts are packed in the room.