Short answerHard1 mark
4(d)
Re-write the following sentences according to the instructions given after each. Make other changes that may be necessary, but do not change the meaning of each sentence.
"We have had no rain since January," Ramu said. (Begin: Ramu said that they ..................)
Topic: Direct and indirect speech
Previous-year question practice database
Answer
Exam answer
Ramu said that they had had no rain since January.
Explanation
Three changes are needed, and the instruction supplies the pronoun so you know two of them are expected:
- PRONOUN — "we" becomes "they", as the instruction shows.
- TENSE backshift — PRESENT PERFECT ("have had") becomes PAST PERFECT ("had had"), because the reporting verb "said" is past.
- "that" introduces the reported clause and the quotation marks go.
The double word HAD HAD looks wrong and is correct. The first "had" is the auxiliary of the past perfect; the second is the main verb "have" in its past participle form. Compare: "I had had lunch", "she had had enough".
Note that SINCE JANUARY does NOT change. Time expressions shift only when they are relative to the moment of speaking — today, tomorrow, now. A fixed date stays as it is.
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