Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.
Rita said, "For the last two months I have been trying to lose weight."
- ARita said for the last two months she had tried to lose weight.
- BRita said that for the last two months she had been trying to lose weight.
- CRita said that she is trying for the last two months to lose weight.
- DRita told she have been trying for the last two months to lose weight.
Solution & Step-by-step Explanation
To convert the direct speech sentence into indirect speech, we follow these guidelines:
Conjunction: The punctuation marks are replaced by the linker 'that'.
Pronoun: The first-person pronoun 'I' changes to the third-person singular feminine pronoun 'she' to align with the speaker, Rita.
Tense: The reported clause is in the Present Perfect Continuous Tense ("have been trying"). Since the reporting verb is in the past tense ("said"), it updates to the Past Perfect Continuous Tense ("had been trying").
Combining these shifts yields: "Rita said that for the last two months she had been trying to lose weight."
Conjunction: The punctuation marks are replaced by the linker 'that'.
Pronoun: The first-person pronoun 'I' changes to the third-person singular feminine pronoun 'she' to align with the speaker, Rita.
Tense: The reported clause is in the Present Perfect Continuous Tense ("have been trying"). Since the reporting verb is in the past tense ("said"), it updates to the Past Perfect Continuous Tense ("had been trying").
Combining these shifts yields: "Rita said that for the last two months she had been trying to lose weight."