Change the following into direct Speech. Choose the correct answer from below:
He asked me if I could meet him the next day.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → He said, "Can you meet me tomorrow?"
Indirect to direct speech (question):
| Change | Indirect | Direct | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | asked me | said, “ ” | “Asked me” becomes “said”, with the spoken words in quotation marks. |
| Question form | if I could meet | Can you meet ...? | “If I could meet” is a yes/no question, so it becomes “Can you meet ...?” (auxiliary before the subject, question mark). |
| Pronoun change | I, him | you, me | “I” becomes “you”. “Him” becomes “me”. |
| Tense change | could | can | “Could” becomes “can”. |
| Words of nearness (time and place) | the next day | tomorrow | “The next day” becomes “tomorrow”. |
| Full sentence | He asked me if I could meet him the next day. | He said, “Can you meet me tomorrow?” |
Example: She asked me if I was ready. → She said, “Are you ready?”
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: He said, "You can meet me tomorrow." — Incorrect. It is a statement giving permission, not a question.
Option 3: He said, "Can meet me tomorrow." — Incorrect. The subject "you" is missing and it ends with a full stop instead of a question mark.
Option 4: He said, "You meet me tomorrow." — Incorrect. It reads as an instruction. The question and the modal can are lost.