Choose the correct transformation of the given sentence in Indirect Speech:
Mr Bhatt said to the auto driver, “Thank you for returning my lost phone.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Mr Bhatt thanked the auto driver for returning his lost phone.
Changing a “Thank you” sentence into indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to the auto driver, “Thank you | thanked the auto driver | “Thank you” is reported with the verb “thanked”. It takes the person straight after it, and “said to” is dropped. The reason stays as “for” + verb-ing, with no “that”. |
| Pronoun change | my | his | Mr Bhatt is the speaker, so “my” becomes “his”. |
| Full sentence | Mr Bhatt said to the auto driver, “Thank you for returning my lost phone.” | Mr Bhatt thanked the auto driver for returning his lost phone. |
“Congratulations” is reported in a similar way, with “congratulated” + person + “on”. Example: Meena said to Ali, “Congratulations on your new job!” → Meena congratulated Ali on his new job.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Mr Bhatt thanked to the auto driver for returning his lost phone. — Incorrect. “Thanked” takes the person straight after it. The “to” before “the auto driver” is wrong.
Option 3: Mr Bhatt thanked the auto driver to return his lost phone. — Incorrect. “Thanked” is followed by “for” + verb-ing, not by “to return”.
Option 4: Mr Bhatt told the auto driver that thank you for returning his lost phone. — Incorrect. “That thank you” keeps the spoken words after “that”. “Thank you” must become the verb “thanked”.