He said, "I clean my teeth twice a day."
A. He said that he cleaned his teeth twice a day.
B. He said that he cleans his teeth twice a day.
C. He said that he used to clean his teeth twice a day.
D. He said that he is used to cleaning his teeth twice a day.
Answer: Option B
Solution (By Examveda Team)
1. Understanding the sentence in direct speech:The original sentence is: "I clean my teeth twice a day."
Here, "clean" is in the present simple tense, which is used for habitual actions or routines.
2. Identifying the reporting verb:
The reporting verb is "said", which is in the past tense. In indirect speech, the tense of the reporting verb influences whether we backshift (change) the tense in the reported clause.
3. Rules for changing tenses in indirect speech:
Normally, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, we backshift the tense of the reported verb (e.g., present → past).
However, there are exceptions. If the reported statement expresses a universal truth, fact, or a habitual action that is still true, we keep the tense as it is.
4. Applying the rule here:
The statement "I clean my teeth twice a day" describes a habitual action that is still true for the speaker at the time of reporting. Therefore, we do not need to change the verb "clean" to "cleaned".
5. Converting to indirect speech:
Remove the quotation marks.
Change "I" to "he" (as the speaker is referred to in third person).
Keep "clean" in present tense but adjust for third-person singular → "cleans".
The sentence becomes: He said that he cleans his teeth twice a day.
6. Checking other options:
Option A ("cleaned") → Incorrect, because it unnecessarily changes the tense.
Option C ("used to clean") → Incorrect, because it implies the habit is no longer true.
Option D ("is used to cleaning") → Incorrect, because it changes the meaning to showing familiarity with the action, not reporting the statement directly.
Final Answer: Option B is correct because it follows the indirect speech rule for habitual actions that remain true.
This Question Belongs to Competitive English >> Direct And Indirect Speech
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Comments (7)
Kiran asked me, "Did you see the Cricket match on television last night?"
A. Kiran asked me whether I saw the Cricket match on television the earlier night.
B. Kiran asked me whether I had seen the Cricket match on television the earlier night.
C. Kiran asked me did I see the Cricket match on television the last night.
D. Kiran asked me whether I had seen the Cricket match on television the last night.
David said to Anna, "Mona will leave for her native place tomorrow."
A. David told Anna that Mona will leave for her native place tomorrow.
B. David told Anna that Mona left for her native place the next day.
C. David told Anna that Mona would be leaving for her native place tomorrow.
D. David told Anna that Mona would leave for her native place the next day.
I said to him, "Why are you working so hard?"
A. I asked him why he was working so hard.
B. I asked him why was he working so hard.
C. I asked him why had he been working so hard.
D. I asked him why he had been working so hard.
He said to her, "What a cold day!"
A. He told her that it was a cold day.
B. He exclaimed that it was a cold day.
C. He exclaimed sorrowfully that it was a cold day.
D. He exclaimed that it was a very cold day.
Option (A) is correct according to chat GPT.
for habitual action and universal truth we don't change the tense.
He said that he must go the following week
Option A is correct. Past tense should be followed by past tense
A is Correct Answer
In Drucet and Indirect speech
Present Indifinite change into Past Indefinite Tense
Past sentence behind will surely change the direct send inside the commos.
How it can be Option B? Reporting speech is in past tense and reported is in Present indefinite. So it will be shifted to past indefinite tense. How you can use present indefinite tense again.