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She said to him, “How many books have you?” Change into Indirect Speech

She said to him, “How many books have you?” Change into Indirect Speech

1 Answer

  1. Indirect Speech: She asked him how many books he had.

    Explanation: When the reporting verb is in the past (said) and the direct speech is in the present indefinite tense (simple present tense), then the indirect (reported) speech will change into the past indefinite tense.

    Present Indefinite Tense > Past Indefinite Tense.

    And if the sentence is interrogative, we use the reporting verbs – asked, enquired, etc.

    Here, have is itself a verb and not an auxiliary verb. Hence, the sentence is in simple present tense and not in present perfect tense.

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