Identify the correct indirect speech for the direct sentence: "She sai...
In transforming the direct sentence into indirect speech, 'am watching' changes to 'was watching' to match the past tense. Therefore, the correct indirect speech is "She said that she was watching a movie that night."
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Identify the correct indirect speech for the direct sentence: "She sai...
Understanding Indirect Speech
Indirect speech, also known as reported speech, is used to convey what someone has said without quoting their exact words. When converting from direct to indirect speech, certain changes in tense, pronouns, and time expressions are typically required.
Analyzing the Direct Sentence
The direct sentence is:
"She said, 'I am watching a movie tonight.'"
Key Components of the Sentence
- **Speaker**: She
- **Tense**: Present continuous ("am watching")
- **Time expression**: "tonight"
Converting to Indirect Speech
When we convert this sentence to indirect speech, we follow these rules:
- **Change of Tense**: The present continuous tense "am watching" changes to the past continuous tense "was watching."
- **Pronoun Adjustment**: The pronoun "I" changes to "she."
- **Time Expression**: The word "tonight" changes to "that night."
Correct Answer Explanation
Option B states:
"She said that she was watching a movie that night."
- **Tense Change**: "am watching" to "was watching" (correct)
- **Pronoun Change**: "I" to "she" (correct)
- **Time Change**: "tonight" to "that night" (correct)
This correctly reflects the original meaning while adhering to the rules of indirect speech.
Why Other Options are Incorrect
- **Option A**: "She said that she watched a movie that night." (Incorrect tense change)
- **Option C**: "She says that she will watch a movie that night." (Incorrect tense and present form)
- **Option D**: "She says that she would watch a movie that night." (Incorrect tense and present form)
In conclusion, option B is the correct transformation into indirect speech, maintaining the integrity of the original statement while following grammatical rules.