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, 'You must work hard.'
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. He said that I had to work hard.
Changes required:
Conjunction: The inverted commas ('__') are removed and the conjunction 'that' is used to introduce the reported speech.
Verb: The reporting verb 'said' remains unchanged as it is not followed by an object.
Tense: When 'must' expresses a necessity or obligation in the present or future, it changes to 'had to' in indirect speech when the reporting verb is in the past tense (said).
Pronoun: The second person pronoun 'You' changes to the first person pronoun 'I' (assuming the speaker is addressing the listener/me) according to the context of the reporting.
Converted sentence: He said that I had to work hard.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.