Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.
His son thought, “If my father keeps grieving like this, the crops will die.”
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. His son thought that if his father kept grieving like that, the crops would die.
Changes required:
- Conjunction: The inverted commas ("_") are removed, and "that" is used.
- Verb: "Thought" remains unchanged as it correctly reflects the reported speech.
- Tense: "Keeps grieving" (present) changes to "kept grieving" (past) to match the reported verb in the past tense.
- Pronoun: "My father" changes to "his father" to reflect the perspective of the subject (His son).
- Others: "Like this" changes to "like that" in indirect speech for proper narration.
Converted sentence: His son thought that if his father kept grieving like that, the crops would die.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.