Select the correct direct form of the given sentence.
Dhruv said that he was sick and tired of working for that company.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Dhruv said, “I am sick and tired of working for this company.”
A statement, changed from indirect back to direct speech:
| Change | Indirect | Direct | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joining word | that | " " (quotation marks) | "That" is dropped. Dhruv's own words go inside quotation marks after a comma. |
| Pronoun change | he | I | Dhruv is speaking about himself. So "he" goes back to "I". |
| Tense change | was | am | "Am" became "was" only because "said" is in the past. The verb "be" in the simple past is was / were. In Dhruv's own words he is talking about now, so it goes back to the simple present "am". The verb "be" in the simple present is am / is / are. |
| Time and place words | that company | this company | "That" goes back to "this", because Dhruv was talking about the company he works for. |
| Full sentence | Dhruv said that he was sick and tired of working for that company. | Dhruv said, "I am sick and tired of working for this company." |
Sick and tired of something means fed up with it. Going back to direct speech undoes every change. So was → is/am, had → have, would → will, then → now, and there → here. Example: Neha said that she would call me the next day. → Neha said to me, "I will call you tomorrow."
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Dhruv said, “I will be tired of working for that company.” — Incorrect. "Will be" is the future. The reported "was" goes back to the present "am", not to a future form.
Option 3: Dhruv said, “I was sick and tired of working for this company.” — Incorrect. The past "was" is kept inside the quotation marks. Dhruv's actual words were in the present.
Option 4: Dhruv said, “He was tired of that company.” — Incorrect. Dhruv is talking about himself. In his own words, "He" must be "I".