Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.
I said to my friend, “Why didn’t you answer my phone calls?”
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1, i.e. I asked my friend why she hadn’t answered my phone calls.
Changes required:
Conjunction: “Why” is used as it is a wh-word question.
Verb: “Didn’t answer” (past simple) becomes “hadn’t answered” (past perfect) in indirect speech.
Pronoun: “You” becomes “she” to match the third person.
Tense: As the reporting verb is in the past (“said to” → “asked”), the tense of the reported speech changes to past perfect.
Others: “Said to” is changed to “asked” because it's a question.
Converted sentence: I asked my friend why she hadn’t answered my phone calls.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.