Select the most appropriate indirect form of the given sentence :

He said, "Would you like to see how I go about searching for ideas ?"

He asked if I would like to see how he went about searching for ideas.

The correct answer is Option (1) - He asked if I would like to see how he went about searching for ideas.

• Reporting Verb ("said" changes to "asked")

  • The sentence begins with "He said," but since the direct sentence is a question, the indirect form changes the reporting verb to "asked."

• Interrogative Sentence Transformation

  • The question "Would you like to see how I go about searching for ideas?" is a yes/no question in the direct speech.
  • In indirect speech, "Would you like" is converted into "if I would like."
  • The question format disappears, and a statement format is used instead.

• Pronoun Changes

  • The pronoun "you" in direct speech changes to "I" in indirect speech because the speaker is addressing the listener directly.

• Tense Adjustment

  • The verb in the reporting clause is in the past ("He said"). Therefore, the present tense in the direct speech, "goes about," shifts to the past tense, "went about," in indirect speech to maintain sequence of tenses.

He asked if I would like to see how he went about searching for ideas.