Question

Change the following into indirect speech: He said, "This is my book."

Hint:

When converting from direct to indirect speech, remember the "backshift" rule for tenses if the reporting verb is in the past (e.g., `said`). Present becomes past, past becomes past perfect. Also, pronouns and words indicating time/place (like `this`, `now`, `today`) often need to be changed.

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The task is to convert a sentence from direct speech (the exact words of the speaker in quotation marks) to indirect or reported speech (reporting what the speaker said without quotation marks). This involves changes in pronouns, tenses, and other words.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The original sentence is: He said, "This is my book."
Let's apply the rules of conversion:
1. Reporting Verb: The reporting verb 'said' remains 'said' because it is not followed by an object.
2. Conjunction: The conjunction 'that' is introduced to connect the reporting clause with the reported speech.
3. Change of Demonstrative Pronoun: 'This' changes to 'that'.
4. Change of Tense: The reporting verb ('said') is in the past tense, so the verb in the reported speech must also change. The simple present 'is' changes to the simple past 'was'.
5. Change of Possessive Pronoun: The first-person pronoun 'my' changes to the third-person pronoun 'his' to correspond with the subject of the reporting verb ('He').
By applying these changes, we get:
He said + that + that + was + his + book.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The sentence in indirect speech is: He said that that was his book.