Target Exam

CUET

Subject

English

Chapter

Direct/indirect

Question:

Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.

 

"Would you like to take this apartment on rent from tomorrow?" he said to me.

Options:

He told me if I would like to take that apartment on rent from the next day.

He asked me if I will like to take that apartment on rent from the next day.

He asked me if I would like to take that apartment on rent from the next day.

He asked me if I would like to take that apartment on rent from tommorow.

Correct Answer:

He asked me if I would like to take that apartment on rent from the next day.

Explanation:

The correct indirect form of the given sentence is: OPTION 3

He asked me if I would like to take that apartment on rent from the next day.

  1. Reporting verb ("asked"): Since the original sentence is a question, "said to" is changed to "asked" in indirect speech.

  2. "Would" remains "would": The verb "would" is retained because it is already in a past modal form, which doesn't change in reported speech.

  3. Pronoun change ("this" to "that"): In indirect speech, demonstratives like "this" change to "that" to reflect the shift in perspective.

  4. Time expression change ("tomorrow" to "the next day"): Time expressions in direct speech change to their equivalent in indirect speech. For example, "tomorrow" becomes "the next day."

  5. Thus, the correct option is "He asked me if I would like to take that apartment on rent from the next day."
  6. Incorrect options explained:

    • Option 1 ("He told me if..."): This is incorrect because "told" is not used for asking a question in indirect speech.
    • Option 2 ("He asked me if I will like..."): This is incorrect because "will" should change to "would" in reported speech.
    • Option 4 ("...from tomorrow"): This is incorrect because "tomorrow" should change to "the next day" in reported speech.