SSC Stenographer 2026 PYQ — Question 127

SSC Stenographer - 12 Sep 2026 - Shift 2 • English • Q127

Choose the option that is the most appropriate conversion of the following sentence into Direct Speech.
She asked me how long I had been standing in the queue.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C

Explanation

Correct Answer: She said to me, "How long have you been standing in the queue?"
Explanation
• Reporting Verb: In direct speech, the reporting verb asked me changes to said to me.
• Tense Change: The past perfect continuous tense in indirect speech (had been standing) corresponds to the present perfect continuous tense in direct speech (have you been standing).
• Pronoun Change: The first-person pronoun I refers to the object (me), so it changes to the second-person pronoun you inside the quotation marks.
• Interrogative Structure: Direct questions require inverted word order (wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb). Thus, the correct phrasing is "How long have you been standing...?"