SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 15 September 2025, Shift 3 · English Comprehension · Question 22 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

A sentence is provided in direct speech. From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence in its corresponding indirect speech. She said, “My parents will arrive today.”

(a)She said that her parents will arrive that day.
(b)She said her parents would arrive today.
(c)She said that her parents would arrive that day.
(d)She said her parents would be arriving today.

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The reporting verb said is in the past, so three things change in the reported words.

Tense: will arrive → would arrive.
Pronoun: My → her, because she is the speaker.
Time: today → that day.

All three changes appear together in She said that her parents would arrive that day → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
She said that her parents will arrive that day. — Shifts today to that day but keeps will. After a past reporting verb, will backshifts to would.
(b)
She said her parents would arrive today. — Backshifts will to would but leaves today unchanged, where the conversion gives that day. Leaving out that after said is not the fault.
(d)
She said her parents would be arriving today. — Changes the aspect as well as the tense: will arrive backshifts to would arrive, not the continuous would be arriving. It also keeps today.

Concept

After a past reporting verb, the reported clause backshifts: will → would, can → could, is → was, has → had.

Pronouns follow the speaker: she said my, so the report says her parents.

Words that point to the moment of speaking move away from it: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, this → that, here → there.

In real use, today can stay if the report is made on the same day. The item gives no such cue, so it applies the standard conversion, and the key follows it.

Key facts

After a past reporting verb, will becomes would in the reported clause.
Today becomes that day, tomorrow the next day, and yesterday the previous day.
The conjunction that after said is optional in indirect speech.
Pronouns change to match the speaker: her words my parents become her parents.

Study next

The backshift table: present → past, present perfect → past perfect, will → wouldTime and place words in reported speech: now → then, here → there, ago → beforeReporting questions and commands: asked if, told ... to

Common traps

Stopping after the tense change and leaving today untouched.
Treating the missing that in (b) and (d) as the error — it is optional.
Turning will arrive into would be arriving, which changes the aspect as well as the tense.

The same conversion is keyed at 18 Sep 2025, 12:30, English Q.22: 'We shall overcome this challenge together' becomes They said they would overcome that challenge together, with would for shall, that for this, and no that after said.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Narration — all 23 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.