वाच्य परिवर्तन: 'से' versus 'के द्वारा', and a badly attempted भाववाच्य
Your Class IX grammar test carries a 4-mark वाच्य-परिवर्तन question, 1 mark per item: (क) श्याम ने पत्र लिखा। (कर्मवाच्य) (ख) माली पौधों को पानी देता है। (कर्मवाच्य) (ग) बच्चे मैदान में खेल रहे हैं। (भाववाच्य) (घ) वह दौड़ नहीं सका। (भाववाच्य). While moderating 40 scripts you find three problems. Rakesh writes 'श्याम से पत्र लिखा गया' for (क); the key your senior prepared accepts only 'श्याम के द्वारा पत्र लिखा गया'. Sunita writes 'बच्चे मैदान में खेले जा रहे हैं' for (ग). Eleven students write 'उसने दौड़ा नहीं गया' for (घ). Your head of department wants a ruling before marks are entered, and also asks whether item (ग) was well set in the first place.
1. Rule on Rakesh's 'श्याम से पत्र लिखा गया' against a key that allows only 'के द्वारा'.
Read the worked answer
Award 1. In कर्मवाच्य the कर्ता is marked with के द्वारा or से; both are standard, and 'श्याम से पत्र लिखा गया' is grammatical and means exactly the same as 'श्याम के द्वारा पत्र लिखा गया'. The transformation is complete: कर्ता in oblique case, क्रिया agreeing with कर्म (पत्र, पुल्लिंग एकवचन), past participle लिखा गया. Nothing required is missing.
The senior's key has confused one accepted form with the only accepted form. Do not mark the student down for the key's narrowness; instead amend the key before marks are entered and circulate the amendment in writing, so that all four markers apply it to all 40 scripts. A quiet personal decision here would create an inconsistency between sections that is far harder to defend than the amended key. Same ruling for (ख): 'माली से पौधों को पानी दिया जाता है' is acceptable, and so is 'पौधों को माली द्वारा पानी दिया जाता है'.
2. Grade Sunita's answer to (ग) and explain exactly what she did wrong.
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Award 0. Sunita changed only the verb. A वाच्य परिवर्तन must change the case-marking of the कर्ता as well: in भाववाच्य the कर्ता takes से or के द्वारा (बच्चों से), and the क्रिया becomes पुल्लिंग, अन्य पुरुष, एकवचन - खेला जा रहा है. Her sentence 'बच्चे मैदान में खेले जा रहे हैं' keeps the कर्ता in the direct case and keeps a plural verb agreeing with it, so it is neither कर्तृवाच्य nor भाववाच्य; it is not a Hindi sentence.
Correct answer: 'बच्चों से मैदान में खेला जा रहा है।'
Diagnosis: she has memorised 'जा' as the badge of वाच्य and attached it like a suffix. Reteach with a three-column table (कर्तृवाच्य / कर्मवाच्य / भाववाच्य) filling in only the कर्ता and क्रिया slots for one verb (लिखना, then खेलना), so that the case-marker, not the auxiliary, becomes the thing she looks at.
3. Rule on the eleven 'उसने दौड़ा नहीं गया' answers, and answer the head of department's question about whether item (ग) was well set.
Read the worked answer
Award 0 for those eleven. The error is precise: they have kept the कर्ता marker 'ने', which belongs to कर्तृवाच्य with सकर्मक verbs; भाववाच्य cannot take ने. Correct: 'उससे दौड़ा नहीं गया।' (के द्वारा is also acceptable in the formal register.) The item was intended to test exactly this - असमर्थता with an अकर्मक verb is the textbook situation for भाववाच्य, so (घ) is a good item and the failure is a genuine teaching gap.
Item (ग) was also well set: बच्चे खेल रहे हैं is अकर्मक, so a भाववाच्य transformation is legitimate and its key 'बच्चों से मैदान में खेला जा रहा है' is sound. The item would have been badly set if the verb had been सकर्मक (e.g., 'बच्चे पत्र लिख रहे हैं'), where भाववाच्य would distort the meaning. Record both rulings; then run a ten-minute drill on 'ने कब लगता है और कब हटता है'.