He said, "If I were you, I would protest." This can be indirectly reported as:
Correct answer: A. If he had been me, he would have protested
- A. If he had been me, he would have protested
- B. He advised us to protest
- C. If he were me, he would protest
- D. If he had been I, he would have protested
Explanation
In converting direct speech to reported speech, pronouns and verb tenses must be adjusted. The original statement, 'If I were you, I would protest,' when reported indirectly becomes, 'He said that if he had been me, he would have protested.' This involves changing 'I' to 'he,' and 'were' to 'had been,' as well as 'would protest' to 'would have protested,' to reflect the hypothetical condition in the past. Option A is correct. Options B, C, and D either change the meaning or do not correctly apply the rules of indirect speech.
This question appeared on the ETEA MDCAT 2011 paper, which you can sit online with every answer explained.
Report an error
The more specific you are, the faster it gets fixed. A source beats an opinion.
Prefer email? [email protected]
About Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct speech gives a speaker’s exact words, whereas indirect speech reports the meaning without quotation marks. Questions cover reporting verbs, pronoun changes, tense backshift, time and place expressions, punctuation, and the transformation of questions, commands and requests, including cases where backshift is not required.
Practise Grammar
6,178 free Grammar MCQs from English, each with the correct answer and an explanation. Unlimited attempts, no account needed.
Discussion
Stuck on an option, or know a faster way to get there? Ask or explain it here.
No comments yet. Be the first to explain this one.
Exams that ask English questions like this
English is on 133 papers prepared for on TestUstad, and all of them draw the same bank, so this question is worth knowing for every one of them.
More Direct and Indirect Speech questions
Consider the following sentence: He shouted, "Let me go". Which one of the following. stands for the "indirect speech" of the above sentence?
He asked me _.
She asked me _.
Remember to brush your teeth after dinner, "she said. The indirect form of the sentence is:
I said to him, "Can you read this letter?"' Indirect form of the sentence is:
He said to me, May you succeed in life!" The indirect form of the sentence is: