Reported speech

[Aeey]

Test No. incompl/inter-92 "Tenses (3)", question 3

He told them he ......... starting work the next day.

(a) will be
(b) will have been
(c) would be
(d) would have been

Test No. incompl/inter-92 "Tenses (3)", answer 3

He told them he would be starting work the next day.

Correct answer: (c) would be
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Why is it "would be" and not "will be"? what is the rule here? Please explain rule, thank you

[Alan]

It must be would be as it follows told. If the tense is tells (Present) then you can say will be

Have a look at the story I wrote on the site under the heading esl lessons called INDIRECT SPEECH. It might help.
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Cool Expressions