Question

what change, if any, is necessary in the underlined portion in the following passage?
but when the advice they were given by me made sense to them, they improved. (paragraph 3)

• but when i gave advice that made sense to them, they improved.
• but when the advice that was given to them made sense, they improved.
• but then i gave them advice, they improved.
• correct as is

Explanation:

The original sentence uses a passive and wordy construction "the advice they were given by me". The first option rephrases it in a more active and concise way ("I gave advice that...") while maintaining the original meaning. The second option changes the meaning slightly (removes the "by me" agent), the third option creates a run - on sentence and also changes the meaning, and the original is too wordy. So the first option is the best revision.

Answer:

A. But when I gave advice that made sense to them, they improved.