Choose the option that is the indirect form of the sentence. Nikhil said to…
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Choose the option that is the indirect form of the sentence.
Nikhil said to me, "I shall come to the gym tomorrow."
- A.
Nikhil told me that he shall come to the gym the next day.
- B.
Nikhil told me that he would come to the gym the next day.
- C.
Nikhil told me that he should come to the gym the next day.
- D.
Nikhil told me that he will come to the gym the next day.
Attempted by 33 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Correct indirect sentence: Nikhil told me that he would come to the gym the next day.
Key changes applied:
Reporting verb: 'said to' → 'told'.
Pronoun change: 'I' (speaker in direct speech) → 'he' (referring to Nikhil).
Tense backshift: 'shall/will' → 'would' when the reporting verb is in the past.
Time expression: 'tomorrow' → 'the next day'.
Punctuation and conjunction: remove the comma and quotation marks and add 'that' to introduce the reported clause.
Why other choices are wrong:
Using 'shall' or 'will' without backshifting keeps the sentence in direct-future form, which is incorrect after a past reporting verb.
Using 'should' changes the meaning to an obligation or suggestion and is not the standard backshift for 'shall/will'.
Final restatement: Nikhil told me that he would come to the gym the next day.