Correct Answer:
B. He said that he had finished his work
The correct answer is B: He said that he had finished his work. This question assesses your knowledge of converting direct speech into indirect speech, focusing on tense changes and pronoun shifts.
When a declarative sentence in direct speech is converted to indirect speech, the tense typically shifts backward (known as backshift). The original sentence, "I have finished my work," uses the Present Perfect tense. In indirect speech, the Present Perfect tense backshifts to the Past Perfect tense. Therefore, "have finished" becomes "had finished."
- The pronoun "I" changes to "he" to reflect the speaker.
- Similarly, "my work" changes to "his work."
- Option A is incorrect because "finished" (Simple Past) is not the correct backshift for Present Perfect.
- Option C is incorrect as it retains the Present Perfect tense ("has finished") and omits "his work," failing to apply the necessary backshift and pronoun change.
- Option D is incorrect because the pronoun "I" is not changed to "he."
Thus, "He said that he had finished his work" correctly applies all the rules for converting direct speech to indirect speech.