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.

She said, "I had completed the report."

• A. She said that she completed the report.
• B. She said that she has completed the report.
• C. She said that she had completed the report.
• D. She said she had been completing the report.

Answer 1

Answer:

C. She said that she had completed the report.

• Identify the Tense in Direct Speech: The verb phrase in the direct speech is "had completed", which is in the Past Perfect tense.

• Apply the Rule for Tense Change: When converting from direct to indirect speech, if the reporting verb is in the past tense ("said"), the tense of the reported speech usually changes (goes one step back into the past). However, the Past Perfect tense does not change because it is already in the furthest past form.

• Pronoun Change: The first-person pronoun "I" changes to the third-person pronoun "she" to match the subject of the reporting verb.