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:
I said, 'Why are you crying?'
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. I asked why he was crying.
Changes required:
Conjunction: The inverted commas (“__”) are removed and the interrogative word “why” is retained.
Verb: Said changes to asked because the sentence is interrogative in nature.
Tense: As the reporting verb is in past tense (said), Present continuous tense (are crying) changes to past continuous tense (was crying).
Pronoun: Second person pronoun (you) changes to third person pronoun (he) according to the context of the reported speech.
Punctuation: The question mark is removed and the sentence is changed into a statement form in indirect speech.
Converted sentence: I asked why he was crying.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.