Question

Identify the correct indirect / reported speech of the given sentence :

She said, "I am waiting for Meenu."

• A. She said (that) she is waiting for Meenu
• B. She said (that) she was waiting for Meenu
• C. She said (that) she had been waiting for Meenu
• D. She said (that) she has been waiting for Meenu

Answer 1

Answer:

B. She said (that) she was waiting for Meenu

The direct speech contains Present Continuous Tense:

am waiting → was waiting

When the reporting verb “said” is in the past tense, the tense generally changes one step back in reported speech.

Rule:

Present Continuous → Past Continuous
am/is/are + V-ing → was/were + V-ing

Therefore:

She said, “I am waiting for Meenu.”
→ She said that she was waiting for Meenu.