Choose the appropriate indirect form of speech of the sentence given below:
He said, "I intend to leave for Delhi tonight".
(A) He said I intend to leave for Delhi tonight.
(B) He said that he intends to leave for Delhi tonight.
(C) He said that he intended to leave for Delhi that night.
(D) He said that he was intending to leave for Delhi that night.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (C)
| Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|
| He said, "I intend to leave for Delhi tonight". | He said that he intended to leave for Delhi that night. |
Direct to indirect speech (statement):
- Reporting verb: "said" stays. The inverted commas go and "that" joins the clauses.
- Tense change: the reporting verb "said" is in the past, so the simple present "intend" becomes the simple past "intended".
- Pronoun changes: "I" becomes "he", the speaker.
- Words of nearness (time and place): "tonight" becomes "that night".
Example: She said, "I like this song." → She said that she liked that song.
(A) He said I intend to leave for Delhi tonight. — Incorrect.
- It only removes the inverted commas.
- The pronoun, tense and time word are unchanged.
(B) He said that he intends to leave for Delhi tonight. — Incorrect.
- The tense is not changed to the past, and "tonight" is kept.
(C) He said that he intended to leave for Delhi that night. — Correct.
- Every change is made.
(D) He said that he was intending to leave for Delhi that night. — Incorrect.
- The simple present becomes the simple past, not the past continuous "was intending".