Choose the indirect form of the following sentence from the option given:
He said to the guest, “Would you mind taking off your shoes before entering the house?”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → He requested the guest to take off his shoes before entering the house.
Reporting a polite request:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to | requested | “Would you mind ...?” is a polite request, not a real question, so “said to” becomes requested. The inverted commas and the question mark are dropped. The sentence ends with a full stop. |
| Structure | Would you mind taking off | to take off | Requested + person + to-infinitive: “Would you mind taking off” becomes “requested the guest to take off”. |
| Pronoun change | your shoes | his shoes | “Your shoes” becomes “his shoes”, the guest’s shoes. |
| Full sentence | He said to the guest, “Would you mind taking off your shoes before entering the house?” | He requested the guest to take off his shoes before entering the house. |
"Before entering the house" stays as it is.
Example: She said to me, “Would you mind closing the door?” → She requested me to close the door.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: He told the guest that he must take off his shoes before entering the house. — Incorrect. "Told ... that he must" turns a polite request into an order or obligation.
Option 3: He insisted to the guests that the shoes were to be taken off before entering the house. — Incorrect.
- "Insisted" is far stronger than a polite request.
- "The guest" has become the plural "the guests", and the sentence is turned into the passive.
Option 4: He commanded the guest to take off his shoes if he wished to enter the house. — Incorrect.
- "Commanded" reports an order, not a request.
- "Before entering" has become a condition, "if he wished to enter", which is not in the direct speech.