Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.
The electrician said, “I have been fixing the wiring since morning, and I will finish it today.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → The electrician said that he had been fixing the wiring since morning and that he would finish it that day.
Changing a present perfect continuous statement into indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joining word | “ ” (quotation marks) | that ... and that | “That” joins each reported statement. “Said” stays, as no listener is named. |
| Tense change | have been fixing, will | had been fixing, would | “Have been fixing” is in the present perfect continuous. The present perfect continuous is formed with has / have been + V-ing. After the past “said” it becomes the past perfect continuous “had been fixing”. The past perfect continuous is formed with had been + V-ing. “Will” becomes “would” (would + base form (V1)). |
| Pronoun change | I, I | he, he | The electrician is the speaker, so each “I” becomes “he”. |
| Time word | today | that day | The words are reported later, so “today” becomes “that day”. “Since morning” stays as it is. |
| Full sentence | The electrician said, “I have been fixing the wiring since morning, and I will finish it today.” | The electrician said that he had been fixing the wiring since morning and that he would finish it that day. |
“Since” and “for” do not change in the report. Example: Leela said, “I have been learning the sitar for two years.” → Leela said that she had been learning the sitar for two years.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: The electrician said that he has been fixing the wiring since morning and that he would finish it that day. — Incorrect. “Has been fixing” is left unchanged. After the past “said” it becomes “had been fixing”.
Option 2: The electrician said that he had been fixing the wiring since morning and that he would finish it today. — Incorrect. “Today” is kept. In a later report it becomes “that day”.
Option 4: The electrician said that he was fixing the wiring since morning and that he would finish it that day. — Incorrect. “Was fixing” does not go with “since morning”. Work that went on from a point up to the time of speaking needs “had been fixing” in the report.