Question

Choose the indirect speech for the following:
Clinton said, “I am very busy now.”}

• A. Clinton said that he was very busy now.
• B. Clinton said that he is very busy now.
• C. Clinton said that he was very busy.
• D. Clinton said that he was very busy then.

Hint:

In indirect speech, “now → then”, “today → that day”, and present tense usually changes to past.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Concept: In indirect speech, tense and time expressions change.
Step 1: Change pronoun.
\[ I \rightarrow he \]
Step 2: Change tense.
\[ am \rightarrow was \quad ({present} \rightarrow {past}) \]
Step 3: Change time expression.
\[ now \rightarrow then \]
Step 4: Form sentence.
\[ {Clinton said that he was very busy then. \]
Hence, the correct answer is option (D).