Question

Select the proper indirect form of the direct speech sentence below: 
"There are ceremonies going on," he said to me.

• A. He told me that there were ceremonies going on.
• B. He told that there had been ceremonies going on.
• C. He told that there are ceremonies going on.
• D. He told that there have been ceremonies going on.

Hint:

In reported speech, shift present tense to past and use “told me” instead of “said to me.”

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

In indirect speech, we shift the tense back one step from the original (if the reporting verb is in the past). - Direct: “There are ceremonies going on.” - Indirect: “He told me that there were ceremonies going on.” Key transformations:
“said to me” becomes “told me”

“are” (present) becomes “were” (past) in indirect speech. Other options:
(B) “had been” is unnecessary for present continuous.

(C) no tense shift — grammatically incorrect in reported speech.

(D) “have been” is incorrect here and doesn’t match the meaning.