Choose the option that best transforms the given sentence from direct speech to indirect speech:
He said to his daughter, "Will you stop playing that terrible music of yours and let me do my work in peace?"
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → He asked his daughter to stop playing that terrible music of hers and let him do his work in peace.
Reporting a request:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to | asked | “Will you ...?” here is a request, not a real question, so “said to” becomes asked (or requested). The question mark becomes a full stop. |
| Verb form | Will you stop | to stop | A request is reported with “to + base verb”: “will you” is dropped and the verb takes to: “to stop”. |
| Pronoun change | me, my, yours | him, his, hers | The father is the speaker and the daughter the listener: “me” becomes him, “my” becomes his, “yours” becomes hers. |
| Full sentence | He said to his daughter, “Will you stop playing that terrible music of yours and let me do my work in peace?” | He asked his daughter to stop playing that terrible music of hers and let him do his work in peace. |
"Stop playing" and "let ... do" keep their forms. "That terrible music" and "in peace" are kept.
Example: The teacher asked the students to keep quiet during the test.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: He asked his daughter to stop playing her music and let him do his work peacefully. — Incorrect.
- It drops "that terrible", which carries the father's attitude to the music.
- "In peace" is changed to "peacefully", so the report is not faithful.
Option 3: He said to his daughter to stop the music and let the work happen in peace. — Incorrect.
- "Said to his daughter to stop" is wrong. A request is reported with asked or requested, not "said to ... to".
- "Let the work happen" changes "let me do my work".
Option 4: He requested his daughter to stop that terrible music and let him work in peace. — Incorrect.
- "Stop that terrible music" drops "playing" and "of hers".
- "Let him work" changes "let me do my work", so it reports less than the original.