Choose the most appropriate Indirect Speech of the given Direct speech:
He said to him, "Please wait here till I return."
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → He requested him to wait there till he returned.
Request in indirect speech:
Kind of sentence: "Please wait here" is an imperative that makes a request.
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to ... Please | requested | “Said to” becomes “requested”, and “please” is dropped because “requested” already carries it. |
| Imperative verb | wait | to wait | The imperative verb becomes a to-infinitive: “wait” becomes “to wait”. |
| Words of nearness (time and place) | here | there | “Here” becomes “there”. |
| Pronoun change | I | he | “I” becomes “he”. |
| Tense change | return | returned | “Return” becomes “returned”. |
| Full sentence | He said to him, “Please wait here till I return.” | He requested him to wait there till he returned. |
Example: She said to me, “Please close the door.” → She requested me to close the door.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: He requested that wait here till he return. — Incorrect.
- "Requested that wait" has no subject for "wait" and no object for "requested".
- "Here" and "return" are not changed to there and returned.
Option 3: He said that please wait there till he returned. — Incorrect. An imperative is not reported with "said that", and "please" cannot stay in indirect speech.
Option 4: He said that wait there till he had returned. — Incorrect.
- "Said that wait" keeps the command form after "that", which is ungrammatical.
- The request is lost, and "had returned" is an unneeded past perfect.