Consistent tense — Sentence Correction Aptitude Question
Consistent tense: Choose the correct sentence: Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Sentence Correction
- Section: Verbal Ability
- Difficulty: Medium
- Time target: 50 seconds
Question
Choose the correct sentence:
Options
- He said that he comes the next day.
- He said that he will come tomorrow.
- He said that he would come the next day.
- He says that he would come tomorrow.
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: C. He said that he would come the next day.
Worked solution
- With a past reporting verb (said), the reported clause shifts back: will → would.
- Time words shift too: tomorrow → the next day.
Answer: He said that he would come the next day.
The idea
In reported speech, move both the tense and the time reference one step into the past. Mixing a past reporting verb with a present or future clause is the standard error.
Shortcut. A past reporting verb needs two backshifts: will → would and tomorrow → the next day. Only one option has both; every other keeps comes, will, tomorrow or says.
Common trap. "He said that he will come tomorrow." repeats the words as they were spoken; it sounds natural in conversation but skips both backshifts that the past verb said requires.