Select the option that expresses the given sentence in direct speech.
Sameer told his landlord that his kitchen tap was leaking and he was tired of fixing it himself.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Sameer said to his landlord, “My kitchen tap is leaking and I am tired of fixing it myself.”
Changing a statement from indirect back into direct speech:
| Change | Indirect | Direct | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | told his landlord | said to his landlord | “Told” goes back to “said to” before the spoken words. |
| Joining word | that | “ ” (quotation marks) | “That” is dropped. The spoken words go inside quotation marks. |
| Pronoun change | his, he, himself | My, I, myself | Sameer is the speaker. In his own words “his” becomes “my”, “he” becomes “I” and “himself” becomes “myself”. |
| Tense change | was leaking, was | is leaking, am | Going back, the past returns to the present. “Was leaking” is in the past continuous. The past continuous is formed with was / were + V-ing. It becomes the present continuous “is leaking”. The present continuous is formed with am / is / are + V-ing. “He was” is in the simple past. The verb “be” in the simple past is was / were. It becomes the simple present “I am”. The verb “be” in the simple present is am / is / are. |
| Full sentence | Sameer told his landlord that his kitchen tap was leaking and he was tired of fixing it himself. | Sameer said to his landlord, “My kitchen tap is leaking and I am tired of fixing it myself.” |
“Were” goes back to “are” in the same way. Example: Lata told me that her parents were in Pune. → “My parents are in Pune,” Lata said to me.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Sameer said to his landlord, “His kitchen tap is leaking and he is tired of fixing it himself.” — Incorrect. The pronouns “his” and “he” are not changed. In his own words Sameer says “my” and “I”.
Option 3: Sameer said to his landlord, “My kitchen tap was leaking and I was tired of fixing it myself.” — Incorrect. The past “was” is kept inside the quotation marks. It came only from the past “told”, so it goes back to the present.
Option 4: Sameer said to his landlord, “That my kitchen tap is leaking and I am tired of fixing it myself.” — Incorrect. “That” is kept inside the quotation marks. Spoken words never begin with this joining word.