Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.
Mehak said, “I have finished this whole web series in two days.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Mehak said that she had finished that whole web series in two days.
Changing a statement into indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joining word | “ ” (quotation marks) | that | “That” joins the statement. No person is named after “said”, so “said” stays. |
| Tense change | have finished | had finished | “Have finished” is in the present perfect. The present perfect is formed with has / have + past participle (V3). After the past “said” it becomes the past perfect “had finished”. The past perfect is formed with had + V3. |
| Pronoun change | I | she | The speaker is Mehak, so “I” becomes “she”. |
| Time and place words | this | that | The words are reported later, away from the moment Mehak spoke. So “this” becomes “that”. |
| Full sentence | Mehak said, “I have finished this whole web series in two days.” | Mehak said that she had finished that whole web series in two days. |
“These” becomes “those” in the same way. Example: Omar said, “I have read these books.” → Omar said that he had read those books.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Mehak said that she has finished that whole web series in two days. — Incorrect. “Has finished” is left in the present perfect. After the past “said” it must become “had finished”.
Option 3: Mehak said that she had finished this whole web series in two days. — Incorrect. “This” is not changed. In the report it becomes “that”.
Option 4: Mehak told that she had finished that whole web series in two days. — Incorrect. “Told” needs the person after it, as in “told me that”. With no person named, “said that” is used.