Change the following sentence into indirect speech choosing the correct answer from the given options:
The Lecturer said, "Children, let's wait for our turn to meet the Chief Guest".
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The Lecturer suggested to the children to wait for their turn to meet the Chief Guest.
* **Reporting Verb:** The reporting verb in this case is "said". When "said" is used to introduce indirect speech, we often use verbs like "suggested," "asked," or "told" depending on the context.
* **Tense Change:** Since the reporting verb ("said") is in the past tense, the main verb in the reported speech ("let's wait") usually changes to the base form ("to wait").
* **Subject and Object:** "The children" remain the object in indirect speech, and "the Chief Guest" is still the person they are waiting to meet.
The other options have issues:
* **Option 2:** "meet...in returns" is grammatically incorrect.
* **Option 3:** "The Lecturer proposed to meet the Chief Guest..." focuses on the lecturer's action, not the children waiting as instructed.
* **Option 4:** "The Lecturer proposed the Chief Guest to meet the children..." changes the subject-object relationship in the original sentence.