Convert the following indirect speech sentence into direct speech by selecting the correct option.
The police officer asked whether the suspects had fled the city.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
Correct Answer: The police officer asked, "Have the suspects fled the city?"
Explanation
• Reporting Clause: The conjunction whether signals that the direct speech sentence is a yes/no question.
• Tense Shift: When converting from indirect to direct speech, the past perfect tense (had fled) shifts back to the present perfect tense (have fled).
• Word Order: An interrogative sentence in direct speech follows the inverted order: Auxiliary verb (Have) + Subject (the suspects) + Main verb in V3 form (fled)...?
• Proper quotation marks and a question mark are restored in direct speech.