Pawan said to me, "If I hear any news, I'll phone you."
A. Pawan told me that if he heard any news, he will phone me.
B. Pawan told me that if he will hear my news, he will phone me.
C. Pawan told me that if he had heard any news, he would phone me.
D. Pawan told me that if he heard any news, he would phone me.
Answer: Option D
Solution (By Examveda Team)
Original Sentence (Direct Speech):Pawan said to me, "If I hear any news, I'll phone you."
Step-by-step Conversion:
1. Identify the sentence type: This is a conditional sentence (Type 1), which talks about a possible future action.
2. Reporting verb: “said to me” changes to “told me” in indirect speech.
3. Tense changes: In indirect speech, present tense becomes past:
“hear” becomes “heard”
“will phone” becomes “would phone”
4. Pronoun changes: “I” becomes “he” (for Pawan), and “you” becomes “me” (as it is said to “me”).
Correct Sentence:
Pawan told me that if he heard any news, he would phone me.
Correct Answer: Option D
Why other options are incorrect:
Option A: “he will phone me” — ❌ wrong tense; “will” should change to “would” in indirect speech.
Option B: “if he will hear my news” — ❌ incorrect tense and unnatural phrasing.
Option C: “if he had heard” — ❌ changes the meaning; this becomes a Type 3 conditional, which is incorrect here.
Final Answer: Option D – Pawan told me that if he heard any news, he would phone me.
This Question Belongs to Competitive English >> Direct And Indirect Speech
will is changed to would in indirect speech as in command,request, advice and promise sentences with infinitive "to"