Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.

"I am going to the store," he said.

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

SSC JHT 2024 Official Paper-I (Held On: 09 Dec, 2024)

Answer 1

The correct answer is Option 3.

Key Points

Indirect Speech: The sentence is converted from direct speech to indirect speech, modifying the tense and pronouns as necessary.
Key Conversions:
- "I am going to the store" becomes "he was going to the store"
  - The pronoun "I" changes to "he" to match the subject.
  - The verb "am" changes to "was" to reflect the change in tense from present to past.
  - The phrase "to the store" remains unchanged.
- Reporting verb:
  - Direct: "he said"
  - Indirect: "he said that", introducing the reported clause.
Punctuation and Format:
- The indirect speech does not use quotation marks.
- The tense and pronouns are adjusted to match the reporting context.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

Correct Sentence: "He said that he was going to the store."

Additional Information

Option 1: "He says that he will go to the store."
- Incorrect tense: "says" suggests present reporting, whereas the original sentence uses past reporting ("he said").
- Future tense "will go" does not match the original sentence, which uses present continuous ("am going").
Option 2: "He said that he is going to the store."
- Incorrect tense: "is going" suggests present continuous, but the indirect speech should shift to past continuous ("was going").
Option 4: "He says that he went to the store."
- Incorrect tense: "says" suggests present reporting, while the original sentence uses past reporting ("he said").
- Past simple "went" does not match the original sentence, which uses present continuous ("am going").