She said, “He has finished his food.” A. She said that he has finished his food. B. She said that he had finished his food. C. She said that he finished his food. D. She said that his food was finished.
Answer: B
If the direct speech is in simple present tense, then it changes to simple past tense.
He told me that he had been to Kolkata. A. “I have been to Kolkata”, he told me. B. “I have been to Kolkata”, he said. C. “I had been to Kolkata”, he said me. D. “I have to Kolkata”, he told me.
Answer: A
If the direct speech is in simple present tense, then it changes to simple past tense.
They told me that they had been living in Goa. A. “We were living in Goa”, they told me. B. “We were living in Goa”, they said me. C. “We were living in Goa”, they said. D. “We have been living in Goa”, they told me.
Answer: A
If the direct speech is in simple past tense, then it changes to past perfect tense.
She said, “I’ll be using the car next Friday.” A. She said that she would use the car next Friday. B. She said that she would have been using the car next Friday. C. She said that she would be using the car next Friday. D. She said that she would be using the car on Friday.
Answer: C
If the direct speech is in simple past tense, then it changes to past perfect tense.
He said that he might buy a house. A. He said, “I might buy a house.” B. He said, “I may bought a house.” C. He said, “I may buy a house.” D. He said, “I might buy the house.”
Answer: C
Note the changes in Modals: “may‟ changes into “might”. That is, if the indirect speech has “might”, then the direct speech should have “may” in it.
Dravid said to Anna, “Mona will leave for her native place tomorrow.” A. Dravid told Anna that Mona will leave for her native place tomorrow. B. Dravid told Anna that Mona left for her native place the next day. C. Dravid told Anna that Mona would be leaving for her native place tomorrow. D. Dravid told Anna that Mona would leave for her native place the next day.
Answer : D
In reported speech, “you” becomes “him, her”/ “is, am, are” becomes “was, were”/ “have, has” becomes “had” and exclamation marks become “ordered or shouted”. “Please” becomes “pleaded, requested”.
He exclaimed with joy that India had won the Sahara Cup. A. He said, “India has won the Sahara Cup” B. He said, “India won the Sahara Cup” C. He said, “How! India will win the Sahara Cup” D. He said, “Hurrah! India has won the Sahara Cup”
Answer : D
When converting statements from reported speech to direct speech, “was, were” becomes “am, is, are”/ “him, her” becomes “you”/”had” becomes “has, have”/words like “ordered, sternly spoke, shouted” becomes exclamation mark. Words like “pleaded, requested” become “please, kindly”.
The man said, “No, I refused to confess guilt.” A. The man emphatically refused to confess guilt. B. The man refused to confess his guilt. C. The man told that he did not confess guilt. D. The man was stubborn enough to confess guilt.
Answer : A
In reported speech, “you” becomes “him, her”/ “is, am, are” becomes “was, were”/ “have, has” becomes “had” and exclamation marks become “ordered or shouted”. “Please” becomes “pleaded, requested”.
He told her, “I want to meet your father”. A. He told her that I want to meet your father. B. He told her that he wanted to meet her father. C. He told her that he wanted to meet your father. D. He told her that she wanted to meet her father.
Answer : B
In reported speech, “you” becomes “him, her”/ “is, am, are” becomes “was, were”/ “have, has” becomes “had” and exclamation marks become “ordered or shouted”. “Please” becomes “pleaded, requested”.
The father warned his son that he should be beware of him. A. The father warned his son, “beware of him!” B. The father warned his son, “Watch that chap!” C. The father warned his son, “Be careful about him.” D. The father warned his son, “Don’t fall into the trap.”
Answer : A
When converting statements from reported speech to direct speech, “was, were” becomes “am, is, are”/ “him, her” becomes “you”/”had” becomes “has, have”/words like “ordered, sternly spoke, shouted” becomes exclamation mark. Words like “pleaded, requested” become “please, kindly”.
