Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.
“You speak such good English,” said Mary.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Mary told me that I spoke very good English.
Changing a statement said to "me" into indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said Mary | Mary told me | Mary said these words to me, the person now reporting them. So "said" becomes "told me". |
| Joining word | " " (quotation marks) | that | A statement is joined with "that". |
| Pronoun change | You | I | Mary spoke to me. In my own report her "you" becomes "I". |
| Tense change | speak | spoke | The simple present "speak" becomes the simple past "spoke" after "said". The simple present is formed with the base form (V1), or V1 + s / es with he, she, it. The simple past is formed with the past form of the verb (V2). |
| Word of feeling | such good | very good | "Such" adds warm feeling in speech. A plain report uses "very" instead. |
| Full sentence | "You speak such good English," said Mary. | Mary told me that I spoke very good English. |
"Told" always takes the person spoken to. "Said" is used when no person is named. Example: Mr Rao said to us, "You work hard." → Mr Rao told us that we worked hard.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Mary told me that I speak so much good English. — Incorrect. "Much" is not used before "good" and a noun. "So much good English" should be "very good English".
Option 3: Mary told me that I was speaking much good English. — Incorrect. "Much good English" is not correct English. "Good" takes "very" before it.
Option 4: Mary told me that I was speaking very good English. — Incorrect. "Speak" is the simple present. It moves back to the simple past "spoke", not to the past continuous "was speaking".