Direct & Indirect Speech — Set 12
Questions 111–120 of 140
Convert: "I know where you live," he said to her.
Correct Answer: B. He told her that he knew where she lived
Both the main verb 'know' and the embedded verb 'live' change tense. The pronouns change: 'I' becomes 'he', 'you' becomes 'she'. The correct form is 'He told her that he knew where she lived'.
"I gave him the money yesterday," she said. Report this.
Correct Answer: B. She said she had given him the money the day before
Past simple 'gave' changes to past perfect 'had given'. Time reference 'yesterday' changes to 'the day before'. The correct form is 'She said she had given him the money the day before'.
Convert: "I don't know how to solve this problem," he said.
Correct Answer: B. He said he didn't know how to solve that problem
Simple present negative 'don't know' changes to simple past 'didn't know'. The demonstrative 'this' changes to 'that'. The infinitive phrase remains unchanged. The correct form is 'He said he didn't know how to solve that problem'.
"I will be waiting for you at the station," she said. Convert to indirect.
Correct Answer: B. She said she would be waiting for me at the station
Future continuous 'will be waiting' changes to conditional continuous 'would be waiting'. The pronoun 'you' changes to 'me'. The correct form is 'She said she would be waiting for me at the station'.
Convert: "I have been trying to reach you for days," he said.
Correct Answer: B. He said he had been trying to reach me for days
Present perfect continuous 'have been trying' changes to past perfect continuous 'had been trying'. The pronoun 'you' changes to 'me'. The time duration 'for days' remains unchanged. The correct form is 'He said he had been trying to reach me for days'.
"We will never forgive you for this," they said. Report this.
Correct Answer: B. They said they would never forgive me for that
Future 'will never forgive' changes to 'would never forgive'. The pronoun 'you' changes to 'me', and 'this' changes to 'that'. The correct form is 'They said they would never forgive me for that'.
Convert: "I didn't tell you because I was afraid," she said.
Correct Answer: C. She said she hadn't told me because she had been afraid
The main clause past simple 'didn't tell' changes to past perfect 'hadn't told'. The causal clause 'was afraid' becomes past perfect continuous 'had been afraid' to show it preceded the action. The correct form is 'She said she hadn't told me because she had been afraid'.
"If I had known, I would have come," he said. Convert to indirect.
Correct Answer: B. He said if he had known, he would have come
Third conditional sentences do not change tense as they already express a past perspective. The form 'He said if he had known, he would have come' maintains the subjunctive conditional structure unchanged. For example, 'He said that he was happy' is the indirect form of 'He said: I am happy'.
Convert: "I have lived here all my life," she said.
Correct Answer: B. She said she had lived there all her life
Present perfect 'have lived' changes to past perfect 'had lived'. 'Here' changes to 'there', and 'my' changes to 'her'. The correct form is 'She said she had lived there all her life'.
"You are the best student in the class," the teacher said. Report this.
Correct Answer: C. The teacher said that I was the best student in the class
When addressing someone directly, the pronoun 'you' in reported speech changes to the appropriate third person pronoun. Present tense 'are' changes to past 'was'. The correct form is 'The teacher said that I was the best student in the class' (from the student's perspective).