A sentence has been given in Direct/Indirect Speech. Out of the four given alternatives, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in Indirect/Direct Speech.
She responds, "I don't eat meat at all."
- AShe responds that she does not eat meat at all.
- BShe said she doesn't eat meat.
- CShe responds that she don't eat meat.
- DShe didn't eat meat at all.
Solution & Step-by-step Explanation
The correct option is A.
Reporting Verb: The reporting verb "responds" is in the Present Tense. When the reporting verb is in the present or future tense, the tense of the verb inside the reported speech does not change.
Pronoun Change: The first-person pronoun "I" changes to the third-person singular pronoun "she" to match the subject of the reporting verb.
Verb Agreement: With "she", the negative helper verb changes from "don't" (do not) to "does not" (doesn't) to maintain subject-verb agreement in the present tense.
Conjunction: The comma and inverted commas are replaced by the conjunction "that".
Putting it all together: She responds that she does not eat meat at all.
Reporting Verb: The reporting verb "responds" is in the Present Tense. When the reporting verb is in the present or future tense, the tense of the verb inside the reported speech does not change.
Pronoun Change: The first-person pronoun "I" changes to the third-person singular pronoun "she" to match the subject of the reporting verb.
Verb Agreement: With "she", the negative helper verb changes from "don't" (do not) to "does not" (doesn't) to maintain subject-verb agreement in the present tense.
Conjunction: The comma and inverted commas are replaced by the conjunction "that".
Putting it all together: She responds that she does not eat meat at all.