Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.
The traveller said to a passerby, "Can you help me find my way, please?''
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct indirect form of the given sentence is:
The traveller asked the passerby if he could kindly help him find his way.
The other options are incorrect:
- The traveller asked the passerby could you kindly help me find my way? - This is incorrect because the modal verb "could" is in the present tense, but the reporting verb "said" is in the past tense.
- The traveller requested to the passerby if he can help him find his way. - This is incorrect because the preposition "to" is unnecessary in this context.
- The traveller asked the passerby that he can kindly help him find his way. - This is incorrect because the word order in the reported speech is incorrect. The correct word order would be "if he could kindly help him find his way".