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Difficulty: Very hardDirect and Indirect (Reported) Speech

Consider the following direct speech statement made during an official university senate hearing: "If the administration had implemented the revised welfare policy last year, the staff union would not be striking today," the registrar remarked. Which of the following options correctly converts this statement into indirect speech?

  1. The registrar remarked that if the administration had implemented the revised welfare policy the previous year, the staff union would not be striking that day.Answer
  2. B
    The registrar remarked that if the administration implemented the revised welfare policy last year, the staff union would not be striking today.
  3. C
    The registrar remarked that if the administration had implemented the revised welfare policy the previous year, the staff union will not be striking today.
  4. D
    The registrar remarked that if the administration has implemented the revised welfare policy the year before, the staff union would not have been striking that day.

Answer

The registrar remarked that if the administration had implemented the revised welfare policy the previous year, the staff union would not be striking that day.
The correct indirect speech conversion accurately preserves the past perfect conditional verb form ('had implemented'), retains the appropriate modal expression ('would not be striking'), and shifts both time adverbs ('last year' becoming 'the previous year' and 'today' becoming 'that day').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the tense and conditional structure in the direct speech clause.
The clause 'had implemented' is in the past perfect tense (third conditional condition), which remains unchanged in reported speech. 'would not be striking' represents a mixed conditional continuous result.
Past perfect tenses do not backshift further when reported after a past-tense reporting verb.
2
Identify and convert temporal adverbials.
'last year' shifts to 'the previous year' (or 'the year before'), and 'today' shifts to 'that day'.
Adverbials of time must shift to reflect the indirect, past point of reference.
3
Combine the reported clauses with the reporting verb.
The complete correct indirect statement maintains the exact conditional logic and updates all temporal indicators accurately.
Ensures full grammatical precision and meaning retention.

Key Concept

Reporting Mixed Conditionals and Shifting Temporal Adverbials in Indirect Speech
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Direct and Indirect (Reported) Speech

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