Choose the correct indirect form of the given sentence:
Arjun said to his sister, “Will you lend me your calculator tomorrow?”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Arjun asked his sister if she would lend him her calculator the next day.
Changing a yes/no question into indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to | asked | Arjun is asking a question, so “said to” becomes “asked”. |
| Joining word | Will you ...? | if | The question can be answered with “yes” or “no”. So it is joined with “if” (or “whether”). |
| Word order | Will you lend | she would lend | The reported question becomes a statement. So the subject “she” comes before the verb, and there is no question mark. |
| Tense change | will | would | The reporting verb “said” is in the past, so “will” becomes “would”. |
| Pronoun change | you, me, your | she, him, her | Arjun speaks to his sister. So “you” becomes “she” and “your” becomes “her”. “Me” becomes “him” because the speaker is Arjun. |
| Time word | tomorrow | the next day | The words are reported later, so “tomorrow” becomes “the next day”. |
| Full sentence | Arjun said to his sister, “Will you lend me your calculator tomorrow?” | Arjun asked his sister if she would lend him her calculator the next day. |
Other common changes are can → could, now → then, today → that day and yesterday → the day before. Example: Neha said to me, “Can you swim?” → Neha asked me if I could swim.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Arjun asked his sister if she will lend him her calculator the next day. — Incorrect. “Will” is left unchanged. After the past verb “asked”, it must become “would”.
Option 3: Arjun asked his sister whether would she lend him her calculator the next day. — Incorrect. The question order “would she” is kept. In indirect speech the subject comes first: “whether she would lend”.
Option 4: Arjun asked his sister if she would lend him her calculator tomorrow. — Incorrect. “Tomorrow” is left unchanged. In indirect speech it becomes “the next day”.