Select the option which expresses the given sentence in Indirect speech:
The visitor said to Sameer,“ Why did your father drag you into this situation?”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → The visitor asked Sameer why his father had dragged him into that situation.
Wh-question in indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to | asked | “Said to” becomes asked, and the question word why joins the two parts. |
| Word order | did your father drag ...? | his father had dragged ... | The question becomes a statement (subject before verb), the helping verb “did” goes, and the question mark is dropped. |
| Tense change | did ... drag | had dragged | The reporting verb is in the past, so the simple past “did ... drag” moves back to the past perfect had dragged. |
| Pronoun change | your, you | his, him | “Your” becomes his. “You” becomes him. |
| Words of nearness (time and place) | this | that | “This” becomes that. |
| Full sentence | The visitor said to Sameer, “Why did your father drag you into this situation?” | The visitor asked Sameer why his father had dragged him into that situation. |
Example: She said to me, “Why did you leave early?” → She asked me why I had left early.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: The visitor said to Sameer that why his father dragged him into this situation. — Incorrect.
- "said to" is kept and "that why" joins the clause. A reported question takes "asked" and only the question word.
- The tense is not moved back ("dragged") and "this" is not changed to "that".
Option 2: The visitor asked Sameer why his father dragged him into that situation? — Incorrect.
- "dragged" is not moved back to "had dragged".
- The question mark is kept, though a reported question is a statement.
Option 4: The visitor told Sameer why his father had dragged him into that situation? — Incorrect.
- "told" is used for statements. A question is reported with "asked".
- The question mark is kept.