Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.
The teacher paused and said, “Those who are tired of listening to me can go. I shall not mind it.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The most appropriate indirect form of the given sentence is:
The teacher paused and said that those who were tired of listening to him could go and that he would not mind that.
The other answer choices are incorrect for the following reasons:
- The teacher ordered that those who were tired of listening to him would go and that he would not mind that. - This is incorrect because the verb "ordered" suggests that the teacher was giving a command, but the original sentence is a simple statement.
- The teacher paused and then said that those who have been tired of listening to him would go and that he would not mind that. - This is incorrect because the verb "have been" in the reported speech is in the present perfect tense, but the original sentence is in the simple past tense.
- The teacher exclaimed with a pause and then said that those who are tired of listening to me can go. I shall not mind it. - This is incorrect because the original sentence is a statement, not an exclamation.