Choose the correct transformation of the given sentence in Indirect Speech:
Arjun said, “Friends, let us clean up the ghat after the puja.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Addressing them as friends, Arjun suggested that they should clean up the ghat after the puja.
Changing a “Let us” sentence into indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said, “Friends, ...” | Addressing them as friends, Arjun suggested | “Friends” is the word Arjun uses to call his listeners. It becomes “Addressing them as friends”. “Let us” puts forward a plan, so “said” becomes “suggested”. |
| Joining word | “ ” (quotation marks) | that | “That” joins the suggestion. |
| Let us → they should | let us clean up | they should clean up | “Us” means Arjun and his friends together, so it becomes “they”. A suggestion is reported with “should” + verb. |
| Full sentence | Arjun said, “Friends, let us clean up the ghat after the puja.” | Addressing them as friends, Arjun suggested that they should clean up the ghat after the puja. |
“Proposed that they should” is used in the same way. Example: Neel said, “Let us order pizza tonight.” → Neel proposed that they should order pizza that night.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Arjun said to his friends that let us clean up the ghat after the puja. — Incorrect. “Let us” is kept as in the spoken words. A report changes it to “they should”.
Option 3: Addressing them as friends, Arjun suggested them that they should clean up the ghat after the puja. — Incorrect. “Suggested” cannot take “them” straight after it. The person, when named, needs “to”: “suggested to them”.
Option 4: Addressing them as friends, Arjun suggested that we should clean up the ghat after the puja. — Incorrect. “We” puts the reporter in Arjun’s group. “Us” means Arjun and his friends, so it becomes “they”.