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 can play the piano.'
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. She said she could play the piano.
To convert direct speech into indirect (reported) speech, several changes are required:
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Reporting Verb and Connector: Since the sentence is a simple statement, we use the reporting verb 'said'. The conjunction 'that' is often used to introduce the reported clause (though it can be omitted in informal English).
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Change of Pronoun: The first-person pronoun 'I' refers to the speaker ('She'). Therefore, in indirect speech, 'I' changes to 'she'.
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Tense Shift (Backshifting): When the reporting verb is in the past tense ('said'), the verb in the reported speech must shift back to its corresponding past form.
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The modal verb 'can' changes to 'could'.
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Final Indirect Sentence: She said that she could play the piano.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.