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Question

Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect voice.

The student said, "I have been practicing for the competition for months, but I am still nervous, as the other competitors are very skilled."

The correct answer is

The student said that he had been practicing for the competition for months, but he was still nervous, as the other competitors were very skilled.

In indirect speech the reporting verb 'said' is in the past, so the tenses of the reported clause must shift one step back.

The present perfect continuous 'have been practicing' changes to the past perfect continuous 'had been practicing'.

The present simple 'am' becomes 'was', and 'are' becomes 'were'; the pronoun 'I' changes to 'he'.

Option B applies every one of these back-shifts consistently, whereas the other options keep some verbs in the present tense.

The correct indirect form is The student said that he had been practicing for the competition for months, but he was still nervous, as the other competitors were very skilled.

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Similar Questions

  1. Select the option that expresses the given sentence in direct voice.

    The CEO announced that the company had lost a significant amount of revenue last year and that they were making difficult decisions to stay afloat.

  2. Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect voice.

    He said, "I finished my project, and I was working on a new one."

  3. Select the option that expresses the given sentence in direct voice.

    The judge said that the defendant’s plea of not guilty had been a waste of the court’s time, as the evidence which had been presented by the prosecution had clearly proven that he was guilty.

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Important Questions from Direct and Indirect Speech

  1. Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.

    “How beautiful she is!” said Betty.

  2. Select the correct direct form of the given sentence.

    I told my parents not to worry about me.

  3. Direction: Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.

    He said to me, “Your father is waiting for you at the reception.”

  4. Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.

    He said to Manoj, “I celebrated my birthday two days ago.”

  5. Select the most appropriate indirect form of the given sentence.

    Jayesh said to Diwakar, "You can top the class if you want to."

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SSC CHSL 2026-27 Mock Test Series (Tier I & Tier II) (Latest Pattern)
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