Reported Statements Exercises PDFSet 2: Past & Perfect Tense Backshift
20 questions·14 min·Answers included·Explanations included
Preview: Questions
Fill in the blank with the correct option.
1."I bought a new car." He said he ___ a new car.
a) buysb) boughtc) had boughtd) has bought
2."I saw your sister at the mall." She told me she ___ my sister at the mall.
a) had seenb) sawc) has seend) sees
3."We went to Paris last summer." They said they ___ to Paris the previous summer.
a) wentb) had gonec) have goned) go
4."I lost my wallet on the bus." He said he ___ his wallet on the bus.
a) losesb) lostc) has lostd) had lost
5."She wrote me a long letter." He told us she ___ him a long letter.
a) writesb) wrotec) had writtend) has written
... and 15 more questions in the PDF
Preview: Answers
1.had bought
2.had seen
3.had gone
4.had lost
5.had written
... and 15 more answers in the PDF
Preview: Explanations
1."had bought"(c)
The direct speech uses past simple ('bought'). In reported speech, past simple backshifts to past perfect: 'bought' → 'had bought'. The option 'bought' (no backshift) is the most common student error.
2."had seen"(a)
Past simple 'saw' backshifts to past perfect 'had seen' in reported speech. Notice the pronoun change: 'your' → 'my'. 'Saw' without backshift is incorrect because we are reporting at a later time.
3."had gone"(b)
Past simple 'went' becomes past perfect 'had gone'. Also notice the time expression change: 'last summer' → 'the previous summer'. 'Went' alone does not show the shift to an earlier time.
4."had lost"(d)
Past simple 'lost' backshifts to past perfect 'had lost'. 'Lost' without backshift fails to show the time relationship between the original statement and the reporting moment.
5."had written"(c)
Past simple 'wrote' becomes past perfect 'had written'. The irregular verb forms are write → wrote → written. Also note the pronoun change: 'me' → 'him'.
... and 15 more explanations in the PDF
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