Choose the correct option and rewrite the sentence according to the instruction given after each.
He said, "I have passed the examination." (Begin: He said that.....)
Topic: Direct and indirect speech
Try it
Pick an option and check your answer. The full worked answer is below either way.
Answer
(a) He said that he had passed the examination..
Two changes are required when direct speech becomes indirect, and option (a) makes both:
- the PRONOUN shifts — "I" becomes "he", since the reporter is speaking about him.
- the TENSE moves one step back, because the reporting verb "said" is past. PRESENT PERFECT ("have passed") becomes PAST PERFECT ("had passed").
Learn the backshift as a table, since it is examined every year:
simple present → simple past
present continuous → past continuous
present perfect → past perfect
simple past → past perfect
will → would; can → could; may → might
Option (c) leaves the tense unchanged, which is the commonest error; (b) backshifts only one step instead of to the past perfect; (d) changes the meaning to the future.
He said that he had passed the examination..