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 now."
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
He said that he was reading a book then.
Explanation
To change a sentence from direct speech to indirect speech when the reporting verb is in the past tense ("said"), specific grammatical transformations must occur.
The first-person pronoun "I" shifts to the third-person pronoun "he" to match the subject of the reporting verb. The Present Continuous tense verb phrase "am reading" backshifts into the Past Continuous tense, becoming "was reading." Additionally, the adverb of time "now" converts to the corresponding time expression "then."
Combining these adjustments after dropping the quotation marks and inserting the conjunction "that" yields the correct statement.
Key Points
Core Definition Indirect speech conversion transforms direct quotes into reported statements by shifting pronouns, tenses, and time expressions backward relative to the reporting context.
Grammatical Role Proper implementation of past continuous backshifting alongside chronological adverb adaptation to achieve flawless syntactic harmony.