Choose the correct option which best expresses the following same sentence in Indirect speech.
Anil said, "Ali deserved the prize".
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Anil said that Ali had deserved the prize.
Direct to indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said, “ ” | said that | “Said” (past) stays. The inverted commas are removed and that is added. |
| Tense change | deserved | had deserved | After a past reporting verb the simple past in the reported words changes to the past perfect: deserved becomes had deserved. |
| Full sentence | Anil said, “Ali deserved the prize”. | Anil said that Ali had deserved the prize. |
Example: She said, “I lost my purse.” → She said that she had lost her purse.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Anil says that Ali deserves the prize. — Incorrect. It changes the reporting verb to the present "says" and the reported verb to the present "deserves".
Option 2: Anil said that Ali deserves the prize. — Incorrect. After the past "said", the past "deserved" must go back to the past perfect, not forward to the present.
Option 3: Anil said that Ali has deserved the prize. — Incorrect. The present perfect "has deserved" is the backshift of a present tense, not of the simple past.