Choose the correct indirect transformation of the given sentence.
The guest said, “I am enjoying the company of my friends after a long time.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → The guest said that he was enjoying the company of his friends after a long time.
Statement in indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joining word | “ ” (inverted commas) | that | “Said” stays, the inverted commas are removed and the clause is joined with that. |
| Tense change | am enjoying | was enjoying | The reporting verb is in the past, so the present continuous “am enjoying” moves back to the past continuous was enjoying. |
| Pronoun change | I, my | he, his | “I” becomes he, “my” becomes his (the guest is the speaker). |
| Full sentence | The guest said, “I am enjoying the company of my friends after a long time.” | The guest said that he was enjoying the company of his friends after a long time. |
Example: She said, “I am reading a novel.” → She said that she was reading a novel.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: The guest said that he is enjoying the company of his friends after a long time. — Incorrect. The tense is not moved back: "is enjoying" should be "was enjoying" after the past reporting verb "said".
Option 3: The guest said that he had enjoyed the company of his friends after a long time. — Incorrect. The present continuous moves back to the past continuous (was enjoying), not to the past perfect "had enjoyed", which would mean the enjoyment was already over.
Option 4: The guest said that I enjoyed the company of my friends after a long time. — Incorrect.
- The pronouns "I" and "my" are not changed to "he" and "his".
- "enjoyed" is the simple past. The continuous form "was enjoying" is needed.
Contrast: after a past reporting verb, the present continuous (am/is/are + -ing) becomes the past continuous (was/were + -ing).