He's retired

[atabitaraf]

- What does he do?
- He's retired, but he said that he ... some undercover work for the communications.
a) has done
b) does
c) did
d) is done
e) is doing
.
.
.
Would you please tell me which option is the best?
Thanks,
ata

 

[emsr2d2]

- What does he do?
- He's retired, but he said that he ... some undercover work for the communications.

a) has done
b) does
c) did
d) is done
e) is doing



Would you please tell me which option is the best?
Thanks,

ata

Without any further context, a), b), c) and e) all make grammatically correct sentences. However, if we take "What does he do?" as the clue, then b) is the only correct answer as it's the only one in the simple present, the same tense as the question.

 

[atabitaraf]

Without any further context, a), b), c) and e) all make grammatically correct sentences. However, if we take "What does he do?" as the clue, then b) is the only correct answer as it's the only one in the simple present, the same tense as the question.

Would you please consider this rule I've found in a grammar book:
When the reporting verb is in past, the following verb:
In formal English: is in the past.
and
In less formal English: can be in present.
This is why I've chosen 'did'

 

[Love Teaching]

NOT A NATIVE TEACHER

Sample context:
It's you, me and Tom.

1)
While I am walking in the park, I see Tom. I have small talk with Tom and ask him about his life and job.
Me: Hey Tom. How's it going man?
Tom: Fine, finally I'm retired. But, as you know, I do some undercover work for the communications.
After some days, you see me and ask me about Tom (probably a mutual friend).
You: What does Tom do?
Me: I saw him the other day. Now he's retired, but he said that he does some undercover work for the communications.
This is reported speech. Since it's still true, no back-shift is required.

2)
While I am walking in the park, I see Tom. I have small talk with Tom and ask him about his life and job.
Me: Hey Tom. How's it going man?
Tom: Fine, finally I'm retired. But, as you know, I do some undercover work for the communications.
After some months, you see me and ask me about Tom (probably a mutual friend).
You: What does Tom do?
Me: I saw him some months ago. Now he's retired, but he said that he did some undercover work for the communications.
Back-shift is required and there is this sense that he doesn't do it anymore.

3)
While I am walking in the park, I see Tom. I have small talk with Tom and ask him about his life and job.
Me: Hey Tom. How's it going man?
Tom: Fine, finally I'm retired. But, as you know, I did some undercover work for the communications.
Some days later, you see me and ask me about Tom (probably a mutual friend).
You: What does Tom do?
Me: I saw him the other day. Now he's retired, but he said that he had done some undercover work for the communications.

 

[atabitaraf]

NOT A NATIVE TEACHER

Sample context:
It's you, me and Tom.

1)
While I am walking in the park, I see Tom. I have small talk with Tom and ask him about his life and job.
Me: Hey Tom. How's it going man?
Tom: Fine, finally I'm retired. But, as you know, I do some undercover work for the communications.
After some days, you see me and ask me about Tom (probably a mutual friend).
You: What does Tom do?
Me: I saw him the other day. Now he's retired, but he said that he does some undercover work for the communications.
This is reported speech. Since it's still true, no back-shift is required.

2)
While I am walking in the park, I see Tom. I have small talk with Tom and ask him about his life and job.
Me: Hey Tom. How's it going man?
Tom: Fine, finally I'm retired. But, as you know, I do some undercover work for the communications.
After some months, you see me and ask me about Tom (probably a mutual friend).
You: What does Tom do?
Me: I saw him some months ago. Now he's retired, but he said that he did some undercover work for the communications.
Back-shift is required and there is this sense that he doesn't do it anymore.

3)
While I am walking in the park, I see Tom. I have small talk with Tom and ask him about his life and job.
Me: Hey Tom. How's it going man?
Tom: Fine, finally I'm retired. But, as you know, I did some undercover work for the communications.
Some days later, you see me and ask me about Tom (probably a mutual friend).
You: What does Tom do?
Me: I saw him the other day. Now he's retired, but he said that he had done some undercover work for the communications.

Yes dude thanks, but it's written in Digest that in formal English after a past reporting verb, the following verb is in past too (when the action is still true)
And in less formal English you can use present too.

 

[emsr2d2]

Which book did you find this in?

 

[atabitaraf]

Which book did you find this in?

English grammar digest, Aronson Trudy, Printice-Hall, page: 51 (Indirect Speech)