Select the most appropriate Indirect Speech of the given sentence
My mother said to me, "Are you telling me the truth?"
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → My mother asked me if I was telling her the truth.
Yes/no question in indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to me, “ ” | asked me if | “Said to” becomes “asked”, and “if / whether” joins the question. The question mark goes. |
| Word order | Are you telling | I was telling | The question becomes a statement, subject before verb. |
| Pronoun change | you, me | I, her | “You” becomes “I”. “Me” becomes “her”. |
| Tense change | are telling | was telling | Present continuous becomes past continuous: “are telling” becomes “was telling”. |
| Full sentence | My mother said to me, “Are you telling me the truth?” | My mother asked me if I was telling her the truth. |
Example: He said to me, “Are you coming?” → He asked me if I was coming.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: My mother told me that I was telling her the truth. — Incorrect. "told ... that" turns the question into a statement. The mother was asking, not stating.
Option 2: My mother asked me that I was telling her the truth. — Incorrect. A reported yes/no question is joined by if / whether, not "that".
Option 4: My mother had asked me if I was telling her the truth. — Incorrect. The reporting verb "said" is simple past and stays so (asked). "Had asked" changes its tense.