Select the most appropriate indirect form of the given sentence :
He said, "Would you like to see how I go about searching for ideas ?"
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → He asked if I would like to see how he went about searching for ideas.
Yes/no question in indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said | asked | “Said” becomes “asked”, because a question is reported. |
| Joining word | “ ” | if | A yes/no question is joined with “if” or “whether”. |
| Word order | Would you like | I would like | The question order “would you like” becomes statement order “I would like”. |
| Pronoun change | you, I | I, he | “You” becomes “I” (the listener). “I” becomes “he”. |
| Tense change | go | went | “Go” becomes “went”. “Would” stays. |
| Full 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. |
Example: She said, “Are you ready?” → She asked if I was ready.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: He said that I would like to see how he goes about searching for ideas. — Incorrect. "Said that" turns the question into a statement, and "goes" is not changed to the past.
Option 3: He wanted to know whether I will like to see how I went about searching for ideas. — Incorrect. "Will" should stay "would", and "how I went" wrongly makes the listener the one searching for ideas.
Option 4: He asked if you would like to see how he went about searching for ideas. — Incorrect. "You" is not changed. Reported by the listener it becomes "I".