Question

Choose the option that best fills blank no (3) _____ .

• A. It had been quite good
• B. It has been quite good
• C. It was quite good
• D. It were quite good

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

It was quite good

When we're reporting a speech, we're narrating things that happened or were said in the past. So, the speech will go one tense back.

In reported speech, we add a reporting verb (usually 'said'), the subject changes in narration ('he', 'she', 'it' or 'they') and the related words also change.

Option C: For reporting Sumit's speech, the third point of view 'it' remains the same. 'Is' is in the simple present and changes to 'was', the simple past verb. ('It's' is a contraction of 'it is'.)

So, the correct reported speech for the sentence "Yes, it's quite good." is:

'Sumit replied in the affirmative that it was quite good.'

'Yes' does not have an indirect counterpart and is hence changed to the words 'in the affirmative'.

Hence option C is correct.

Option A: 'Had been' expresses the past perfect tense whereas the sentence goes only one tense behind, from simple present tense 'it's' to simple past 'it was'.

Option B: 'Has been' expresses the present perfect tense whereas the sentence must be in the past.

Option D: 'Were' is a plural verb and is used when the subject of that verb is also plural. But the subject here 'it' is singular.

Hence options A, B and D are incorrect.