Choose the correct reported construction(s) of the given sentence:
The planetarium guide said to the children, “The Earth revolves around the Sun. I will show you a model tomorrow.”
(A) The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth revolves around the Sun and that he would show them a model the next day.
(B) The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth had revolved around the Sun and that he would show them a model the next day.
(C) The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth revolves around the Sun and that he will show them a model the next day.
(D) The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth revolves around the Sun and that he would show them a model tomorrow.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A) only
Changing a fact and a statement into indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to the children | told the children | A listener is named. So “said to” becomes “told”. |
| Joining word | “ ” (quotation marks) | that ... and that | “That” joins each of the two statements. |
| Tense kept | revolves | revolves | “The Earth revolves around the Sun” is a fact that is always true. So “revolves” stays in the simple present even after the past “said”. |
| Tense change | will show | would show | The second part is the guide’s own plan, not a fixed fact. After the past “said”, “will” becomes “would” (would + base form (V1)). |
| Pronoun change | I, you | he, them | The guide is the speaker, so “I” becomes “he”. The children are spoken to, so “you” becomes “them”. |
| Time word | tomorrow | the next day | The words are reported later, so “tomorrow” becomes “the next day”. |
| Full sentence | The planetarium guide said to the children, “The Earth revolves around the Sun. I will show you a model tomorrow.” | The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth revolves around the Sun and that he would show them a model the next day. |
Other rules of science keep their present tense in the same way. Example: Our teacher said, “Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.” → Our teacher said that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
(A) The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth revolves around the Sun and that he would show them a model the next day. — Correct.
- “Revolves” stays in the present because it is a fact.
- “Will” becomes “would”, and “tomorrow” becomes “the next day”.
(B) The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth had revolved around the Sun and that he would show them a model the next day. — Incorrect.
- “Had revolved” puts a fact that is always true far back in the past.
- A fact keeps its present tense.
- Correct form: The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth revolves around the Sun and that he would show them a model the next day.
(C) The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth revolves around the Sun and that he will show them a model the next day. — Incorrect.
- “Will” is left unchanged.
- After the past “said” it must become “would”.
- Correct form: The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth revolves around the Sun and that he would show them a model the next day.
(D) The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth revolves around the Sun and that he would show them a model tomorrow. — Incorrect.
- “Tomorrow” is left unchanged.
- In the report it becomes “the next day”.
- Correct form: The planetarium guide told the children that the Earth revolves around the Sun and that he would show them a model the next day.