English Grammar - Narration

English Grammar
English Grammar - Narration

A sentence is given in indirect speech. Choose the option that most accurately conveys it in direct speech: The coach said that the players were improving with each match.


Options:

  1. "The players are improving with each match," said the coach.
  2. "The players were improving with each match," the coach said.
  3. "Our players improve with each match," said the coach.
  4. "The players had improved with each match," the coach said.

Right Answer: "The players were improving with each match," the coach said.

To convert reported (indirect) speech back into direct speech, the reporting verb 'said' remains unchanged since the original statement was a simple assertion, not a question. Here, the past continuous tense 'were improving' used in the indirect version is retained in the direct quotation as well, since the coach's observation described an action ongoing across matches at the time referenced, rather than only the present moment of speaking. The subject stays 'the players', correctly enclosed in quotation marks. The other options wrongly alter the reporting verb, distort the wording, or shift the tense incorrectly.

This question is part of English Grammar - Narration, which has 48 practice questions with answers.

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