Choose the correct option which best expresses the same sentence in Indirect/Direct speech.
I said, "good-bye, my beloved friends"
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → I bade my beloved friends good-bye.
Greetings in indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said, “Good-bye ...” | bade ... good-bye | Words of greeting or farewell (good morning, good night, good-bye) are not reported with “said that”. The reporting verb changes to bid / bade or wished. |
| Person addressed | “..., my beloved friends” | my beloved friends (object) | The person addressed (“my beloved friends”) becomes the object of the reporting verb, and the inverted commas are removed. |
| Full sentence | I said, “Good-bye, my beloved friends.” | I bade my beloved friends good-bye. |
The speaker reports his own words, so I and my stay.
Example: He said, “Good night, mother.” → He bade his mother good night.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: I wished to my beloved friends good-bye. — Incorrect. Wish takes the person directly, with no "to" (I wished them good-bye). "Wished to" means desired to do something.
Option 3: I bided to my beloved friends good-bye — Incorrect. Bided comes from bide (to wait), not from bid. And bid takes no "to" before the person.
Option 4: I said my beloved friends good-bye. — Incorrect. Say cannot take the person as its object. The persons addressed need "to" (said good-bye to them), so the sentence is ungrammatical.