Q1:jipmat 2025VARC › Direct & IndirectMediumVARC · MCQ
In the following question, a sentence has been given in direct speech. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in indirect speech.
Pritha said to me, 'We have to win this trophy'.
- APritha told me that they have to win that trophy.
- BPritha told me that we had to win that trophy.
- CPritha told me that we have to win that trophy.
- DPritha told me that they had to win that trophy.
Pick an option to attempt
The Setup: We are converting a quote (direct speech) into a report (indirect speech). This means shifting the tense backward, swapping the pronouns to match the new perspective, and updating demonstratives (like 'this' to 'that').
Step 1: Change the reporting verb. 'Said to me' becomes 'told me'.
Step 2: Update the pronouns. Pritha is speaking for her squad ('We'). When we report it, we refer to them as 'they'.
Step 3: Shift the tense. The original sentence is in the present tense ('have to'). We need to shift this back in time to the past tense ('had to').
Step 4: Swap the demonstrative. The close-up 'this' gets pushed back to 'that'.
Step 5: Combine the updates. 'Pritha told me that they had to win that trophy.' Option D is the only one that passes the grammar vibe check.
Final Answer: Pritha told me that they had to win that trophy.