A sentence has been given in direct speech. Out of the three suggested alternatives select the one which best expresses the same sentence in indirect speech.
1James asked me, "Did you see John yesterday?"
Wrong!
In reported speech, the past simple question changes to past perfect and "yesterday" becomes "the previous day", so the correct answer is "James asked me whether I had seen John the previous day."
2Susan said to Alice, "Ann will leave for her native place tomorrow."
Wrong!
In reported speech, "will" changes to "would", "tomorrow" becomes "the next day", and we say "told Alice", so the correct answer is "Susan told Alice that Ann would leave for her native place the next day."
3He said to me, "Why are you working so hard?"
Wrong!
A reported wh-question uses statement word order and backshifts the tense, so the correct answer is "He asked me why I was working so hard."
4She told me, "What a hot day!"
Wrong!
An exclamation is best reported with "exclaimed", so the correct answer is "She exclaimed that it was a hot day."
5The boy said to the teacher, "Could you please repeat the question?"
Wrong!
A polite yes/no request can be reported with "asked" plus "if" and statement word order, so the correct answer is "The boy politely asked the teacher if he could repeat the question."
Answers
- James asked me, “Did you see John yesterday?” — James asked me whether I had seen John the previous day.
- Susan said to Alice, “Ann will leave for her native place tomorrow.” — Susan told Alice that Ann would leave for her native place the next day.
- He said to me, “Why are you working so hard?” — He asked me why I was working so hard.
- She told me, “What a hot day!” — She exclaimed that it was a hot day.
- The boy said to the teacher, “Could you please repeat the question?” — The boy politely asked the teacher if he could repeat the question.
