Choose the most appropriate reported construction of the following sentence:
Rehana said to her brother, “Your speaker is too loud, and I am on an important call.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Rehana told her brother that his speaker was too loud and she was on an important call.
Changing a statement into indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to her brother | told her brother | A person is named after “said to”, so in the report it becomes “told”. |
| Joining word | “ ” (quotation marks) | that | “That” joins the statement. |
| Tense change | is, am | was, was | “Is” and “am” are in the simple present. The verb “be” in the simple present is am / is / are. After the past “said” both become the simple past “was”. The verb “be” in the simple past is was / were. |
| Pronoun change | your, I | his, she | The brother is spoken to, so “your” becomes “his”. The speaker is Rehana, so “I” becomes “she”. |
| Full sentence | Rehana said to her brother, “Your speaker is too loud, and I am on an important call.” | Rehana told her brother that his speaker was too loud and she was on an important call. |
When no person is named, “said” stays “said”. Example: Kiran said, “I am hungry.” → Kiran said that he was hungry.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Rehana said her brother that his speaker was too loud and she was on an important call. — Incorrect. “Said” cannot take the person straight after it. It must be “told her brother” or “said to her brother”.
Option 2: Rehana told her brother that his speaker is too loud and she is on an important call. — Incorrect. “Is” is left unchanged in both parts. After the past “said” it must become “was”.
Option 4: Rehana told her brother that your speaker was too loud and she was on an important call. — Incorrect. “Your” is not changed. The brother is spoken to, so it must be “his speaker”.