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They said, "They have been watching that movie."

Correct answer: C. They said that they had been watching the movie.

  • A. They said that they had been watching that movie.
  • B. They said that they were watching that movie.
  • C. They said that they had been watching the movie.
  • D. They said that they watched the movie.

Explanation

When converting direct speech to indirect speech:- "They said" remains the same, as it's the reporting verb.- "They have been watching" becomes "they had been watching" to change the verb tense from present perfect to past perfect, which is necessary in indirect speech.- "that movie" becomes "the movie", as the definite article "the" is sufficient to refer to the movie, and "that" is not necessary.

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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.

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