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.
The patient said, "It has been three days since I last slept."
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. The patient said that it had been three days since he had last slept.
Changes required:
Conjunction: The inverted commas are removed and conjunction “that” is used.
Verb: “Said” remains unchanged as no object is present.
Tense: Present perfect (has been) changes to past perfect (had been); past simple (slept) changes to past perfect (had slept).
Pronoun: “I” changes to “he” according to the subject “The patient”.
Others: “Last” is retained appropriately in indirect form.
Converted sentence: The patient said that it had been three days since he had last slept.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.