Rafi told Mary, “I am thinking of watching a film this weekend."
The following reports the above statement in indirect speech:
Rafi told Mary that he __________ of watching a film that weekend.
Converting Direct to Indirect Speech
The original statement is in direct speech: Rafi told Mary, “I am thinking of watching a film this weekend."
We need to convert this to indirect speech. Key changes involve:
- Reporting verb tense: 'told' is in the past tense.
- Pronoun change: 'I' changes to 'he'.
- Tense shift: The verb tense in the reported clause shifts back.
- Time expression change: 'this weekend' changes to 'that weekend'.
Applying Tense Shift Rules
When the reporting verb (like 'told') is in the past tense, the present continuous tense ('am thinking') in the direct speech shifts to the past continuous tense ('was thinking') in the indirect speech.
Applying this rule:
- Direct: "I am thinking..." (Present Continuous)
- Indirect: "...he was thinking..." (Past Continuous)
The time expression also changes from 'this weekend' to 'that weekend' to reflect the shift in time.
Final Indirect Speech Statement
Therefore, the correct indirect speech form is: Rafi told Mary that he was thinking of watching a film that weekend.
This matches the structure: Rafi told Mary that he __________ of watching a film that weekend.
The missing verb form is 'was thinking'.
Important Questions from Grammar
Directions: In this question, a sentence has been divided into five parts (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E). Read the sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error if any, will be in one part of the sentence. If there is no error, the answer is 'No error'. Ignore the error of punctuation if any.
Too often, picnic (A)/ preparation consists (B)/ of throwing together some sandwiches (C)/ and grabbing a apple. (D)/ No error (E)
Directions: In this question, a sentence has been divided into five parts (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E). Read the sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error if any, will be in one part of the sentence. If there is no error, the answer is 'No error'. Ignore the error of punctuation if any.
The conference will (A)/ give us an opportunity (B)/ to exchange informations (C)/ with other researchers. (D)/ No error (E)
Directions: In this question, a sentence has been divided into five parts (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E). Read the sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error if any, will be in one part of the sentence. If there is no error, the answer is 'No error'. Ignore the error of punctuation if any.
One of the (A)/ aim of Ethnography is (B)/ to contribute to an understanding (C)/ of the human race. (D)/ No error (E)
Directions: In this question, a sentence has been divided into five parts (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E). Read the sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error if any, will be in one part of the sentence. If there is no error, the answer is 'No error'. Ignore the error of punctuation if any.
If you will eat (A)/ your breakfast, you (B)/ will be allowed (C)/ to watch television. (D)/ No error (E)
Direction: A sentence/part of the sentence is emboldened. Five alternatives are given to the embolden part which will improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative and choose the option corresponding to it. In case no improvement is needed, click the option corresponding to ‘No improvement required’.
No witnesses to the accident have come forward yet, despite the police's appeal.
