Choose the correct option to change the following sentence into Indirect Speech: -
"Please bring me a book", she said to me.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → She requested me to bring her a book.
Request in indirect speech:
Kind of sentence: "Please bring me a book" is an imperative. "Please" makes it a request.
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | Please ... said to | requested | “Said to” becomes requested, and “please” is dropped, since the verb already carries the politeness. |
| Verb form | bring | to bring | The imperative becomes a to-infinitive: “to bring”. |
| Pronoun change | me | her | “Me” in the speaker’s words refers to the speaker herself, so it becomes her. |
| Full sentence | “Please bring me a book”, she said to me. | She requested me to bring her a book. |
"A book" stays.
Example: He said to me, “Please wait here.” → He requested me to wait there.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: She requests me to bring my book. — Incorrect.
- The reporting verb "said" is past, so it should be requested, not "requests".
- "My book" changes the meaning: she asked for a book for herself.
Option 3: She requested me to bring my book. — Incorrect. "Me" should become her. "My book" means the listener's own book, which she never asked for.
Option 4: She said that bring her a book. — Incorrect. A request is not reported with "said that" + an imperative. It needs a verb like "requested" and a to-infinitive.