Select the correct tense: The boys were severely punished by the principal.

Tense is identified from the auxiliary-verb pattern in the verb group, not from meaning alone.

In the passive voice, every aspect keeps its own marker and simply adds a form of "be" before the past participle (V3): simple aspect = was/were + V3; continuous aspect = was/were + being + V3; perfect aspect = had been + V3.

Applying this to the sentence:

"The boys were severely punished by the principal." The verb group is only "were punished" — the simple past auxiliary "were" directly followed by the past participle "punished," with no "being" and no "had" anywhere in it.

Correct answer: Simple past (past simple passive).

Why the other tense options don't fit:

• Past continuous needs "being" between the auxiliary and the participle (was/were + being + V3, e.g. "were being punished"); the sentence has no "being."

• Past perfect continuous needs "had been being" + V3 (e.g. "had been being punished") — the perfect marker "had been" plus the continuous marker "being" together; the sentence has neither "had" nor "being."

• Past perfect needs "had" + been + V3 (e.g. "had been punished"); the sentence uses "were," not "had."