A sentence is provided in direct speech. From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence in its corresponding indirect speech.
She said, "Are you coming to the party?"
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Correct Answer:-
She asked whether I was coming to the party.
Explanation:-
Reporting Verb: The reporting verb "said" changes to "asked" because the direct speech is an interrogative sentence (a question).
Conjunction: For Yes/No questions, direct speech is joined using "if" or "whether."
Tense Change: The reporting verb is in the past tense ("said"), so the Present Continuous tense inside the quotes ("Are you coming") shifts to the Past Continuous tense ("was coming").
Sentence Structure: In indirect speech, the question word-order changes back into a standard statement structure (subject before verb). Therefore, "Are you coming" converts to "I was coming."
Key Points
Core Definition: Converting direct questions to indirect speech requires changing the reporting verb, dropping quotation marks, inserting a conditional conjunction, and shifting the verb tense backward.
Grammatical Role: Interrogative syntax must always convert into assertive word order when shifting from direct quotation to reported speech.