Select the correct direct form of the given sentence.

Professor told me that I could not rescue myself from that bait.

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

SSC CGL 2022 Tier-I Official Paper (Held On : 06 Dec 2022 Shift 4)

Answer 1

The correct answer is "Professor said to me, “You cannot rescue yourself from this bait".

Key Points

As we can see, the indirect speech is in simple past tense form (told, could), we have to change the direct speech according to the same tense rules.
Direct speech: Subject + V1st + Object
Indirect speech: Subject + V2 + Object
- Example: Direct speech: Bhumika Said, “I am a student.”
- Indirect speech: Bhumika said that she was a student.
Consequently, the same rule would be applied in the given sentence.
Thus, the simple past verb (could) would be changed to simple present tense (can).
'that' will change into 'could'.
'myself' will change into 'yourself'.
Thus, the correct answer is Option 4.

Therefore, the correct answer is: Professor said to me, “You cannot rescue yourself from this bait.”

Additional Information

Indirect communication is referred to as reporting the words, but direct speech is regarded as reciting the exact same words said.
Modals, reporting verbs, place, time, tense, pronouns, and other elements all affect how direct and indirect speech is changed.
Depending on the subject of the reporting speech, the first-person pronoun shifts.
Eliminate the comma and the inverted commas, between the reporting and the reported speech, insert "that."
- Example: Arun Said, “They are in the car.”
- Example: Arun said that they were in the car.