SSC Selection Post 2023 PYQ — Question 7

SSC Selection Post - Graduation Level - 27 June 2023 - Shift 4 • English • Q7

Select the option that expresses the given sentence in reported speech.

The teacher said, “She had started the fight”.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B

Explanation

The correct answer is option 2, i.e., The teacher said that she had started the fight.

Reported Speech Concept: When the reporting verb is in the past tense (said), the reported clause keeps “had started” unchanged because it's already in past perfect.
Grammar Explanation: No further backshifting is needed because “had started” is already the correct past perfect form for reported speech.
Correction: “She had started the fight” → “she had started the fight”
Final Sentence: The teacher said that she had started the fight.
Conclusion: The correct answer is “The teacher said that she had started the fight.”