Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable option:
Edison said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
Edison said that genius ___________ one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.

• A. Is
• B. Was
• C. Be
• D. Will be

Answer 1

The correct option is A Is

As the given sentence is a universal fact/truth, it should always remain in the simple present tense even in the indirect speech.

Option B - 'Was' is an auxiliary which is used to form the sentence in the simple past tense. Hence, option B is incorrect.

Option C - 'Be' explains 'the state of being' of a subject, it can't be used instead of an auxiliary as it doesn't represent any specific tense. Hence, option C is incorrect.

Option D - 'Will be' is used to form the sentence in the simple future tense, and if used with a verb it is used to form the sentence in the future continuous tense. Hence, option D is incorrect.

Option A - 'Is' is an auxiliary that is used to form the sentence in the simple present tense. Thus option A is the correct answer.

'Edison said that genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.'