38. Choose the appropriate variant of indirect speech.
The burglar replied that ... .
A) anybody had fifty witnesses who saw absolutely nothing.
B) he had fifty witnesses who saw absolutely nothing.
C) he had fifty witnesses who see absolutely nothing.
D) he had fifty witnesses who had seen absolutely nothing.
E) they had a lot of witnesses who are said to have seen.
Правильный ответ:
D
Перевод:
Грабитель ответил, что у него было 50 свидетелей, которые абсолютно ничего не видели.
Пояснение:
По правилу согласования времен, если главное предложение в прошедшем времени (The burglar replied), то придаточное тоже должно быть в прошедшем. Причем Past Simple меняется на Past Perfect. В данном случае логично предположить, что в прямой речи предложение имеет вид: "I have (got) fifty witnesses who saw absolutely nothing."
Соответственно, have (got) меняется на had, saw на had seen.
Правильный вариант: The burglar replied he had fifty witnesses who had seen absolutely nothing.
