A sentence is provided in indirect speech. From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence in its corresponding direct speech. She mentioned that she was working on a classified project.

Correct — B. The reported verb is was working, the past continuous. After a past reporting verb, mentioned, the spoken verb moves one tense back, so undo that step to recover her words:
was working → am working
she → I, since she is speaking of herself

She said, "I am working on a classified project." → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  She said, "I work on a classified project." — I work is the present simple. Reported after mentioned, it would become she worked, not she was working.
• (c)
  She said, "I had worked on a classified project." — I had worked is the past perfect, which has no tense further back and stays had worked when reported. The report would then say she had worked, not she was working.
• (d)
  She said, "I will work on a classified project." — I will work is the future. Reported, will becomes would: she would work on a classified project. Was working points to an action in progress, not a plan.

When the reporting verb is past (said, mentioned, told), the spoken verb usually moves one tense back:
am working → was working
work → worked
will work → would work

To go from indirect speech to direct, run the change backwards, and turn she back into I when the speaker is talking about herself.

Key facts

• After a past reporting verb: am working → was working, work → worked, will → would.
• The past perfect has no tense further back, so a spoken had worked is reported as had worked.
• When a speaker's own words are reported by someone else, I becomes he or she.

Common traps

• Keeping was working inside the quotation marks: the past continuous in the report is the backshifted form of am working
• Choosing (c) because had worked sounds past: backshift moves one step, and was working comes from am working

No directly related past PYQ was found.