Choose the option that best expresses the following sentence in Direct Speech:
My father wished that God might bless me.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → My father said to me, "May God bless you!"
Indirect wish to direct speech:
Kind of sentence: a wish or prayer. In direct speech it is an optative sentence beginning with May and ending with an exclamation mark.
| Change | Indirect | Direct | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | wished that ... | said to me | Wished becomes said to, followed by the person spoken to (me). That is dropped and the words go inside inverted commas. |
| Tense change | might | May | The modal might goes back to may. |
| Pronoun change | me | you | Me becomes you, since the father speaks to me. |
| Full sentence | My father wished that God might bless me. | My father said to me, “May God bless you!” |
Example: She wished that I might succeed. → She said to me, “May you succeed!”
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: My father asked God, "Bless you!" — Incorrect.
- The father was speaking to me, not to God.
- "Bless you!" addressed to God changes the meaning completely.
Option 3: My father told me, "May God blesses you!" — Incorrect. After may the verb takes the base form, bless, not "blesses".
Option 4: My father said, "God blesses you!" — Incorrect.
- "God blesses you" is a statement, not a wish.
- It drops "May" and the person spoken to.