Choose the correct indirect narration of the following statement from the given alternatives:
Sonika said to Sailesh, “If you were in my place in the party now, you would cry like a child.”
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Correct Answer: Sonika told Sailesh that if he had been in her place in the party then, he would have cried like a child.
Explanation:
• Reporting Verb: 'Said to' changes to 'told'.
• Pronoun Changes: The second-person pronoun 'you' refers to the listener (Sailesh), so it changes to 'he'. The first-person possessive pronoun 'my' refers to the speaker (Sonika), so it changes to 'her'.
• Tense Changes: The conditional clause shifts further into the past in reported speech: 'were' changes to 'had been', and 'would cry' changes to 'would have cried'.
• Time Expression: The adverb of time 'now' changes to 'then'.