A sentence is provided in indirect speech. From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence in its corresponding indirect speech.
They said, 'We are going on a trip'.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. They said they were going on a trip.
Rules for Conversion (Direct to Indirect Speech):
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Reporting Verb: Since the reporting verb 'said' is in the past tense, the tense of the reported speech must change.
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Pronoun Change: The first-person pronoun 'We' changes to the third-person 'they' to match the subject of the reporting verb.
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Tense Change (Present Continuous to Past Continuous): The phrase 'are going' (Present Continuous) changes to 'were going' (Past Continuous).
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Conjunction: The comma and inverted commas are replaced by the conjunction 'that' (though 'that' is often omitted in casual or concise options).
Final Sentence: They said they were going on a trip.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.