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'.