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Question

Difficulty: EasyDirect and Indirect (Reported) Speech

Complete the reported speech sentence by providing the correct form of the verb to fill in the blank.

Answer:Direct Speech: "I have finished my assignment," said Zainab.
Reported Speech: Zainab stated that she 【had finished】 her assignment.

Answer

had finished
When transforming direct speech to reported speech introduced by a past-tense reporting verb, present perfect verbs shift to the past perfect tense. Thus, 'have finished' correctly becomes 'had finished'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the verb tense in the direct speech statement.
The direct statement "I have finished" is in the present perfect tense.
Identifying the original tense is necessary to determine the appropriate backshift requirement.
2
Apply the backshift rule for indirect speech with a past-tense reporting verb.
The present perfect verb phrase 'have finished' changes to the past perfect phrase 'had finished'.
When a past-tense reporting verb like 'stated' is used, present perfect tense forms must shift to the past perfect tense in reported speech.

Key Concept

Tense Backshifting from Present Perfect to Past Perfect in Reported Speech
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Topics

Direct and Indirect (Reported) Speech

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