Question

You: When you meet Ann, please tell her that you saw me?
Charlie: I will tell Ann that I saw you.
This is the conversation between Charlie and You yesterday. Later that day you tell another friend about what Charlie said.
Use reported Speech:
A) He said that he will tell Ann he saw me
B) He said he would tell Ann he had seen me.
C) He said that he will tell Ann that he had seen me.
D) He said that he told Ann that he saw me.

Answer 1

Hint: In English, reported speech or indirect speech is a method of conveying a piece of information without actually quoting it all over again. There are some simple rules to it like following the proper tense pattern, modals, and time-place reference words. Some of the basic rules are mentioned in the “Note” section below.

Complete answer:
Let us analyze the given options:
Option (A) He said that he will tell Ann he saw me. – is incorrect because future tense doesn’t change in reported speech.
Option (B) He said he would tell Ann he had seen me. – is correct because it follows all the required elements of a reported speech. “Will” changes to “Would” and “Simple past” changes to “Past Perfect”.
Option (C) He said that he will tell Ann that he had seen me. - is incorrect because “Will” is not changed to “Would”.
Option (D) He said that he told Ann that he saw me.- is incorrect because it changed the whole premise of the speech and changed the tense improperly.

Therefore the correct answer is option ‘B’.

Note: While doing a direct and indirect speech, keep in mind:
The rule of change of tenses, i.e.,
- Present Simple Tense into Past Simple Tense
- Present Continuous Tense into Past Continuous Tense
- Present Perfect Tense into Past Perfect Tense
- Past Simple Tense into Past Perfect Tense
- Past Continuous Tense into Past Perfect Continuous Tense
- Past Perfect Tense (the tense remains unchanged)