The man said that he … — From the words or group of words lettered A-D, choose the word or group of words that…

Analyze the question

This is a reported (indirect) speech question. The sentence begins with "The man said that he...", so the verb "said" is in the past tense. When the reporting verb is in the past, we apply the rules of backshift and change time and place words.

Explain the concept

When converting direct speech to reported speech after a past reporting verb:

• Simple past → past perfect (ate → had eaten)
• Present perfect → past perfect (has eaten → had eaten)
• yesterday → the previous day / the day before
• here → there
• today → that day
• tomorrow → the next day / the following day

Solution: check each option

• A. had eaten there the previous day. The tense is backshifted correctly to the past perfect. "There" replaces "here," and "the previous day" replaces "yesterday." This follows all the rules.
• B. ate here yesterday. The tense is not backshifted, and "here" and "yesterday" are not changed. This is wrong.
• C. has eaten there before. The present perfect does not fit after "said." It should be "had eaten." This is wrong.
• D. had eaten there yesterday. The tense is correct, but "yesterday" should change to "the previous day" or "the day before." This is wrong in reported speech.

The original direct speech would have been: "I ate here yesterday." In reported speech this becomes: The man said that he had eaten there the previous day.

Answer: A

Exam tip: In reported speech, look for the option that changes both the tense and the time or place words. Option D is a common trap because it fixes the verb but keeps "yesterday." Remember the pairs: yesterday → the previous day, here → there, now → then.