Question: Identify the error in this sentence: He said that he can swim.
Options:
No error.
Change \'can\' to \'could\'.
Change \'said\' to \'says\'.
Change \'that\' to \'if\'.
Correct Answer: Change \'can\' to \'could\'.
Solution:
In indirect speech, \'can\' should change to \'could\' to reflect the past tense.
Identify the error in this sentence: He said that he can swim.
Practice Questions
Q1
Identify the error in this sentence: He said that he can swim.
No error.
Change 'can' to 'could'.
Change 'said' to 'says'.
Change 'that' to 'if'.
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
Identify the error in this sentence: He said that he can swim.
Step 1: Read the sentence carefully: 'He said that he can swim.'
Step 2: Identify that this sentence is in indirect speech because it reports what someone said.
Step 3: Notice that 'said' is in the past tense, which means we need to change the verb that follows to match the past tense.
Step 4: Find the verb 'can' in the sentence. This verb is in the present tense.
Step 5: Change 'can' to 'could' to make it past tense.
Step 6: The corrected sentence should be: 'He said that he could swim.'
Indirect Speech – Indirect speech involves reporting what someone else has said without quoting their exact words, often requiring changes in verb tense.
Verb Tense Agreement – In indirect speech, the verb tense must align with the time frame of the reporting verb.
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