Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable option.
Edison said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration”.
Edison said that genius ____________one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
A. Is
B. Was
C. Be
D. Will be

Answer 1

Hint: In order to answer this question one must understand the difference between direct and indirect speech. If the reporting verb is the present tense, there is no change in the reported sentence. In this case it is a universal fact, so the tense will not change.

Complete step by step answer:
Reported speech is often known as indirect speech in English. When we talk about reported speech, we are usually talking about the past. Now let's take a look at some rules which are necessary in understanding Reported speech.
The DIRECT SPEECH changes into INDIRECT SPEECH
Present simple tense into past simple tense
Present progressive tense into past progressive tense
However there are some exceptions when verbs don’t follow the rules. The verb tenses do not always follow the rules. If the reporting verb is the present tense, there is no change in the reported sentence. Also, a sentence in direct speech in a present or future tense can remain the same if what is said is still true or relevant. If the given sentence is a universal fact/truth it should always remain in the simple present tense.
The reporting verb in the given sentence says it in the present form. Therefore the reported verb should be in the present tense. As the given sentence is a universal fact/truth it should always remain in the simple present tense even in the indirect speech.
Let us discuss the options one by one
Option A) is
This option is correct because the sentence is a universal fact/truth and it should remain in the simple present tense. ‘Is’ is an auxiliary that is used to form the sentence in the simple present tense. So the complete sentence is Edison said that genius ____is__ one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.

Option B) Was
This option is incorrect because “was” is an auxiliary which is used to form the sentence in the simple past tense.
Option C) be
This option is incorrect because “be” explains the state of being of a subject, it cannot be used instead of an auxiliary as it doesn’t represent any specific tense.
Option D) will be
This option is incorrect because “will be” is used to form a sentence in the simple future tense.

So, the correct answer is “Option A”.

Note: To answer such type of questions it is very important to read the sentence carefully so as to know in which tense the sentence is written. It is imperative to know the rules of Reported speech. Also there is no change in the verb tenses if the reported sentence contains a time clause.