Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.
He said, “I bought this book for my brother.”
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. He said that he had bought that book for his brother.
To convert the direct speech to indirect speech, follow these rules:
Change of Reporting Verb: Replace the reporting verb "said" with "said that" to introduce the reported speech.
Pronoun Changes: Change pronouns to match the perspective of the reporting sentence. In this case, "I" changes to "he" (the speaker's pronoun to the reporter's pronoun).
Tense Adjustment: Change the tense of the direct speech to fit the sequence of tenses. The simple past tense "bought" changes to the past perfect tense "had bought" to indicate that the action happened before the reporting time.
Demonstratives Adjustment: Change demonstrative adjectives to match the perspective. "This book" becomes "that book" to reflect the reported speech's context from the reporter’s viewpoint.