Question: Identify the error in this sentence: \'She said that she can help you.\'
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 past tense.
Identify the error in this sentence: 'She said that she can help you.'
Practice Questions
Q1
Identify the error in this sentence: 'She said that she can help you.'
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: 'She said that she can help you.'
Step 1: Read the sentence carefully: 'She said that she can help you.'
Step 2: Identify the main verb in the sentence, which is 'said'. This indicates that the statement is in the past tense.
Step 3: Notice the word 'can' in the sentence. This is present tense.
Step 4: In indirect speech, when the reporting verb is in the past tense (like 'said'), we need to change present tense verbs to their past tense forms.
Step 5: Change 'can' to 'could' to match the past tense.
Step 6: The corrected sentence should be: 'She said that she could help you.'
Indirect Speech – Indirect speech involves reporting what someone else has said, often requiring changes in verb tense.
Verb Tense Agreement – In indirect speech, present tense verbs typically change to their past tense forms.
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