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.
| Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|
| 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. |
Reporting a request:
- Reporting verb: "Will you ...?" here is a request, not a real question, so "said to" becomes asked (or requested).
- Tense change: none is needed, because a request is reported with "to + base verb": "will you" is dropped and the verb takes to: to stop; "stop playing" and "let ... do" keep their forms.
- Pronoun changes: the father is the speaker and the daughter the listener:
- me → him, my → his
- yours → hers
- Words of nearness (time and place): the sentence has no words of time or place to change; "that terrible music" and "in peace" are kept, and the question mark becomes a full stop.
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.