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Question

Difficulty: HardDirect and Indirect (Reported) Speech

Read the direct speech sentence below and complete its indirect speech transformation by supplying the correct words for the blanks.

Answer:Direct speech: "If the team does not complete the seabed survey tomorrow," the marine biologist explained, "we shall forfeit our research permit."

Indirect speech: The marine biologist explained that if the team 【did】 not complete the seabed survey 【the following day】, they 【would】 forfeit their research permit.

Answer

blank_1: did; blank_2: the following day (or the next day); blank_3: would
When converting direct speech into indirect speech introduced by a past-tense reporting verb ('explained'), the simple present auxiliary 'does' backshifts to 'did', the future time adverbial 'tomorrow' changes to 'the following day' or 'the next day', and the modal 'shall' shifts to 'would' alongside the pronoun change from 'we' to 'they'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Backshift the present simple verb in the conditional clause.
The auxiliary 'does' changes to past tense 'did'.
Since the reporting verb 'explained' is in the past tense, simple present auxiliary verbs backshift to the simple past tense in reported speech.
2
Transform the time adverbial expressing future time.
'tomorrow' becomes 'the following day' or 'the next day'.
Time adverbials pointing to the future must shift to reflect the past timeframe of reporting.
3
Adjust the modal verb and personal pronoun for indirect reporting.
The first-person pronoun 'we' becomes 'they', and the modal 'shall' backshifts to 'would'.
When 'we' is reported as third-person 'they' to express a future consequence, 'shall' shifts to 'would'.

Key Concept

Tense backshift, time adverbial transformation, and modal adaptation in indirect speech
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Direct and Indirect (Reported) Speech

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