Choose the correct indirect speech form of the following sentence.
He said, "Will you finish your task on time?"
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Direct to indirect speech conversion:
Reporting Verb: Since the original sentence is a question, "said" changes to "asked".
Conjunction: For "yes/no" questions, we use "if" or "whether" to connect the reporting clause with the reported speech.
Pronoun Change: The second-person pronoun "you" changes to "I" (assuming the speaker is addressing "me"). Consequently, "your" changes to "my".
Tense Change: In indirect speech, the future tense "will" generally changes to "would." However, when "I" is the subject, "should" is often used in traditional grammar to reflect the future-in-the-past.
Sentence Structure: The interrogative form ("Will you...") changes into an assertive statement structure ("...I should finish"). The question mark is removed.
Passive voice: He asked me if I should finish my task on time.