Choose the correct indirect narration of the following statement from the given alternatives:
She said to Martin, 'What is the matter with you that you look so cross today?'
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
To change direct speech to indirect speech for an interrogative sentence (a question), several rules must be followed:
The reporting verb 'said to' changes to 'asked'.
The inverted commas are removed, and a conjunction is not used for 'Wh' questions; the 'Wh' word itself acts as the connector.
The tense of the verb in the reported speech must be changed to the corresponding past tense (present simple 'is' and 'look' become past simple 'was' and 'looked').
Pronouns are changed to match the subject and object of the reporting verb ('you' becomes 'him').
Time and place expressions are changed ('today' becomes 'that day').