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Choose the correct passive voice transformation for the following complex sentence containing a semi-modal verb, an infinitive complement, and a factual subordinate clause:"People used to believe that the ancient civilization had constructed these monolithic structures for astronomical observations."

Detailed Explanation

To convert complex sentences involving reporting verbs and past beliefs (like 'People used to believe that...') into the passive voice, an advanced and concise structure is preferred where the object of the subordinate clause becomes the subject of the main clause followed by a passive infinitive. The phrase 'People used to believe that [Subject + Past Perfect]' correctly transforms into '[Subject of subordinate clause] were/was believed to have been [V3]'. Option (d) correctly applies this rule: 'These monolithic structures' becomes the subject, followed by the passive verb 'were believed', and the past perfect clause 'had constructed' shifts into the perfect passive infinitive 'to have been constructed'. For a deeper understanding of syntactic transformations, refer to the Wikipedia Reference on English voice.
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