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. Choose the correct options.
He said to me, "I don’t believe you." (Begin: He said.........)
Topic: Direct and indirect speech
Try it
Pick an option and check your answer. The full worked answer is below either way.
Answer
(b) He said that he didn’t believe me..
Three changes are needed, and option (b) makes all three:
- PRONOUNS shift — "I" becomes "he" (the speaker), and "you" becomes "me" (the person addressed, who is now reporting).
- TENSE backshifts — the present "don’t believe" becomes the past "didn’t believe", because the reporting verb "said" is past.
- "that" introduces the reported clause, and the quotation marks go.
Option (c) is the trap and it is a subtle one: "believe ME" and "believe IN me" mean different things. To believe someone is to accept what they say; to believe in someone is to have faith in their character or abilities. The original is "I don’t believe you", so the preposition must not be added.
Option (d) leaves the direct speech untouched apart from removing the quotation marks.
He said that he didn’t believe me..