Question : In the following question, a sentence has been given in Direct/Indirect speech. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best express the same sentence in Indirect/Direct speech.
She said, "I was writing an application to the minister about the poor condition of road".
Option 1: She said that she was writing an application to the minister about the poor condition of road.
Option 2: She said that she has been writing an application to the minister about the poor condition of road.
Option 3: She said that she had been writing an application to the minister about the poor condition of road.
Option 4: She said that she had written an application to the minister about the poor condition of road.
Correct Answer:
She said that she had been writing an application to the minister about the poor condition of road.
Solution : The appropriate option is 3
She said that she had been writing an application to the minister about the poor condition of road.
Explanation:
The aforementioned sentence is an assertive statement and is written in direct speech. In indirect speech, it needs to be changed.
The changes that occur when we switch from direct to indirect speech include:
1. There is no change in the reported verb's tense.
2. The inverted commas are removed and the determiner "that" is added.
3. "I" is replaced with "he" in the personal pronoun.
4. The reported speech's Past Progressive tense was changed to Past Perfect Progressive tense.
In accordance with conversion rules, the indirect speech phrase will be:
Direct:
She said, "I was writing an application to the minister about the poor condition of road".
Indirect :
She said that she had been writing an application to the minister about the poor condition of road.
