Discussion
In the sentence below, a part is printed in bold. Choose the alternative that best replaces it. If no improvement is needed, choose ‘No correction required’.
He said that he will come to the office the next day.
Answer: C
Correct answer: would come
When the reporting verb is in the past tense, the verb in the reported clause moves back one step in time. Will becomes would, so he said that he would come. The full sequence is worth learning as a set: present becomes past, present continuous becomes past continuous, present perfect and simple past both become past perfect, will becomes would, can becomes could, may becomes might, and must becomes had to. The adverbs shift too, which is why tomorrow has already become the next day in this sentence - the examiner has left that clue in place. Today becomes that day, yesterday becomes the previous day, here becomes there, and this becomes that. The one exception is a universal truth, which keeps its present tense: he said that the earth revolves round the sun.
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