Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyDirect and Indirect (Reported) Speech

Consider the following statement in direct speech: "We are visiting the historical museum tomorrow," the teacher announced to the class. What is the correct reported speech form of this sentence?

  1. The teacher announced to the class that they were visiting the historical museum the following day.Answer
  2. B
    The teacher announced to the class that they are visiting the historical museum tomorrow.
  3. C
    The teacher announced to the class that they were visiting the historical museum tomorrow.
  4. D
    The teacher announced to the class that we are visiting the historical museum the following day.

Answer

The teacher announced to the class that they were visiting the historical museum the following day.
The correct indirect speech form properly converts the reporting clause by changing the pronoun 'we' to 'they', shifting the present continuous verb 'are visiting' back to the past continuous 'were visiting', and converting the time adverbial 'tomorrow' to 'the following day'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the reporting verb and its tense
The reporting verb 'announced' is in the simple past tense, requiring backshift of the reported clause.
When the main clause reporting verb is in the past tense, tenses, pronouns, and time adverbs in the reported speech must shift back accordingly.
2
Shift the verb tense and pronouns
The present continuous verb 'are visiting' shifts back to the past continuous 'were visiting', and 'we' shifts to 'they'.
Direct speech in the present continuous tense changes to past continuous tense in reported speech.
3
Convert the temporal adverbial
'tomorrow' becomes 'the following day' (or 'the next day').
Time indicators must shift relative to the point of reporting in past contexts.

Key Concept

Backshift of Tense and Adverbial Changes in Reported Speech
Rate this question

Topics

Direct and Indirect (Reported) Speech

More questions from this topic