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Question

Difficulty: EasyDirect and Indirect (Reported) Speech

Complete the reported speech sentence below by supplying the correct form of the auxiliary verb in the blank provided.

Answer:Direct speech: "I have misplaced my admission letter," the candidate lamented.

Reported speech: The candidate lamented that he 【had】 misplaced his admission letter.

Answer

The correct word to fill in the blank is 'had'.
When transforming direct speech into reported speech with a past-tense reporting verb ('lamented'), present perfect verbs backshift to the past perfect tense. Therefore, 'have misplaced' becomes 'had misplaced'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the tense of the verb in the direct speech statement.
The verb phrase in direct speech is present perfect ('have misplaced').
Determining the original tense is necessary to know how to backshift the verb in reported speech.
2
Apply tense backshift rules for reported speech with a past tense reporting verb ('lamented').
Present perfect ('have misplaced') changes to past perfect ('had misplaced').
When reporting statements originally made in the present perfect tense, the auxiliary verb 'have' backshifts to 'had'.

Key Concept

Tense backshift from present perfect to past perfect in reported speech
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Direct and Indirect (Reported) Speech

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