Select the option that expresses the given sentence in reported speech.
Raju said to Reghu, “Stay back.”
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2, i.e., “Raju ordered Reghu to stay back.”
To convert the direct command “Stay back.” into indirect (reported) speech:
“stayed back” is a command given in simple form.
In reported speech, commands are usually transformed using a form like [subject] + ordered/told + [indirect object] + to + [base verb].
Since Raju and Reghu are third person, we use “ordered” (past tense of order) to report the command given in the past, and “to stay back” retains the command’s intent.
Thus, the correct indirect version is:
Raju ordered Reghu to stay back.
Option 1 (“had ordered”) incorrectly uses the past perfect tense, which is unnecessary here.
Option 3 (“has ordered”) is in the present perfect and implies recent or ongoing action, which doesn't match the simple past context.
Option 4 (“orders”) wrongly shifts to present tense, misrepresenting the past action.