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.
Ram said to his sister, "Have you completed your assignment?"
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Correct Answer
Ram asked his sister whether she had completed her assignment.
Explanation
To convert an interrogative direct speech sentence into indirect speech, the reporting verb "said to" changes to "asked." For yes/no questions, the conjunction "whether" or "if" is introduced. The tense shifts from present perfect ("Have you completed") to past perfect ("had completed"), and pronouns change to match the reporting context ("you" becomes "she" and "your" becomes "her").
Key Points
Core Definition Indirect speech reports the speaker's words without quoting them exactly, shifting tenses, pronouns, and sentence structures accordingly.
Grammatical Role Indirect transformation of a present perfect question requires using "asked," an introductory conjunction ("whether"/"if"), and a past perfect statement structure.