Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.
She asked, “Are you coming to the party?”
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. “She asked if I was coming to the party.”
This is a yes/no question, so in indirect speech we introduce it with 'if' (or 'whether') and change the tense and pronouns appropriately when the reporting verb is in the past tense:
Direct Speech:
“Are you coming to the party?” (present continuous)
Reported Speech:
She asked if I was coming to the party.
“are coming” (present continuous) → “was coming” (past continuous)
“you” becomes “I” as the speaker references themselves from their viewpoint
Use 'if' to introduce yes/no questions in reported speech.
Why the other options are incorrect:
Option 1: “She asked if I can come…”
Incorrect tense: “can come” (present ability) should change to 'could come' or 'was coming' depending on meaning. The correct shift from present continuous is past continuous.
Option 3: “She asked are you going to the party.”
Not transformed: It repeats the direct question incorrectly without changing word order, pronoun, or tense.
Option 4: “She asked if I am coming…”
Keeps present continuous (“am coming”) when the reporting verb is past tense. It should be backshifted to past continuous (“was coming”)