Choose the correct indirect construction of the following question:
He said to him, "Is your name not Rama?"
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → He inquired whether his name was not Rama.
| Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|
| He said to him, "Is your name not Rama?" | He inquired whether his name was not Rama. |
Yes/no question in indirect speech:
- Reporting verb: "said to" becomes inquired (or asked), and a yes/no question is joined with whether (or if).
- Word order: the question becomes a statement, subject before verb: "is your name" → "his name was"; the question mark is dropped.
- Tense change: the reporting verb is in the past, so the simple present "is" moves back to was.
- Pronoun changes: "your" refers to the listener ("him"), so it becomes his.
Example: She said to me, "Are you ready?" → She asked me whether I was ready.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: He inquired whether his name is not Rama. — Incorrect. The present tense "is" is not moved back to "was" after the past reporting verb.
Option 2: He asked me whether my name was not Rama. — Incorrect. The question was put to "him", so the pronouns "me" and "my" are wrong; it should be "asked him whether his name was".
Option 3: He asked me if his name is not Rama. — Incorrect.
- The listener was "him", so "asked me" is wrong.
- The present tense "is" is not moved back to "was".