Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect voice.
The librarian told the child, 'You should not be making so much noise, because the other students have been trying to study for their exams.'
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
because the other students had been trying to study for their exams.
To convert a direct speech sentence into indirect speech, several changes are necessary:
The reporting verb 'told' is already in the past tense.
The conjunction ‘that’ is used to connect the reporting clause to the reported clause.
The pronoun 'You' changes to 'he' (assuming the child is male, which is implied by the option).
The modal verb 'should' does not change in indirect speech.
The present perfect continuous tense 'have been trying' in the direct speech changes to the past perfect continuous tense 'had been trying' in the indirect speech, as the reporting verb is in the past tense.
Option A correctly applies all these rules.