Question

Convert the given sentence into Indirect Speech :
She said to him, “ the ceramic pots are very expensive ”

• A. She said to him that the ceramic pots are very expensive
• B. She told him that the ceramic pots were very expensive
• C. She told him that the ceramic pot was very expensive
• D. She said to him that the ceramic pots had been very expensive

Hint:

Remember: 'said to' always changes to 'told' when followed by an object.
Ensure that the singular/plural form of nouns does not randomly change during voice or speech conversion.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
This is a grammar question on converting Direct Speech into Indirect Speech (Reported Speech).
The original sentence is: She said to him, “the ceramic pots are very expensive”.

Step 2: Key Approach:
Apply standard tense shift rules (present simple to past simple) and verb-reporting adjustments ('said to' to 'told').
Verify pronoun and noun matching in plural/singular forms.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
To convert this sentence, we must apply standard rules of reported speech:

• Rule 1: Reporting Verb Change:
The reporting verb 'said to' followed by an object ('him') must be changed to 'told'.
This eliminates Options A and D, which retain 'said to'.

• Rule 2: Conjunction Addition:
The quotation marks are removed, and the conjunction 'that' is inserted to connect the reporting clause and the reported clause.

• Rule 3: Tense Change:
Since the reporting verb ('said to') is in the past tense, the tense of the verb inside the quotation marks must change accordingly.
The simple present tense verb 'are' changes to the simple past tense verb 'were'.
This eliminates Option A, which keeps the present tense 'are'.

• Rule 4: Noun Agreement:
The subject in direct speech is plural ('ceramic pots').
The plural noun 'pots' must remain plural in the indirect statement.
Option C changes 'pots' to the singular 'pot' and 'were' to 'was', which is incorrect.


Step 4: Final Answer:
Combining these rules, the correct indirect speech sentence is: "She told him that the ceramic pots were very expensive."