Question

A sentence is provided in direct speech. From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence in its corresponding indirect speech. He said, "I am reading a book."

• A. He said he is reading a book.
• B. He said that he was reading a book.
• C. He said that he had read a book.
• D. He said he read a book.

Answer 1

Answer:

B. He said that he was reading a book.

1. Rule for Tense Conversion (Backshifting):

When the reporting verb is in the past tense (said), the verb in the reported speech changes to its corresponding past tense:

• Present Continuous Tense (am reading) changes to Past Continuous Tense (was reading).

2. Rule for Pronoun Conversion:

• The first-person pronoun "I" changes to the third-person pronoun "he" to match the subject of the reporting verb.

3. Addition of the Conjunction:

• The reporting conjunction "that" is introduced to connect the reporting clause to the reported speech.