He said to us, "My dogs were not barking at you."
Correct answer: A. He told us that his dogs had not been barking at us.
- A. He told us that his dogs had not been barking at us.
- B. He told us that his dogs were not barking at us.
- C. He told us that his dogs had not been barked at us.
- D. He told to us that his dogs have not been barking at us
Explanation
The original sentence "My dogs were not barking at you" is in the simple past tense, but when reported indirectly, the tense changes to the past perfect ("had not been barking") to indicate that the action of not barking occurred before the time of speaking.
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About Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct speech gives a speaker’s exact words, whereas indirect speech reports the meaning without quotation marks. Questions cover reporting verbs, pronoun changes, tense backshift, time and place expressions, punctuation, and the transformation of questions, commands and requests, including cases where backshift is not required.
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