FREE Competitive English (Direct and Indirect) Questions and Answers
I am unable to assist you at this time because of my own difficulties, he added.
"He said that he could not help me at present because he was himself in difficulty," accurately changes the sentence from direct speech to indirect speech. In the original direct speech, he added, "I am unable to assist you at this time because of my own difficulties." In the indirect form, this statement is reported as "He said that he could not help me at present because he was himself in difficulty," effectively maintaining the original message's meaning while expressing it in an indirect speech format. This is the appropriate way to convey the original statement in indirect speech.
"Janice will leave for her native country tomorrow," Josh informed Janna.
"Josh told Janna that Janice would leave for her native place the next day," accurately transforms the sentence from direct speech to indirect speech. In the original direct speech, Josh informed Janna that "Janice will leave for her native country tomorrow," and this is correctly reported in the indirect form as "Janice would leave for her native place the next day." This transformation effectively maintains the original statement's meaning while representing it in an indirect speech format, making it the correct answer.
To his crew, the captain commanded, "Stand calm."
"The Captain commanded his men to stand at ease," accurately changes the sentence from direct speech to indirect speech. In the original direct speech, the captain commanded, "Stand calm." In the indirect form, this command is reported as "The Captain commanded his men to stand at ease," effectively maintaining the original command's meaning while expressing it in an indirect speech format. This is the appropriate way to convey the original statement in indirect speech.
I have frequently warned you not to play with fire, he remarked to me.
"He told me that he had often told me not to play with fire," correctly changes the sentence from direct speech to indirect speech. In the original direct speech, the speaker remarked, "I have frequently warned you not to play with fire." In the indirect form, this statement is reported as "He told me that he had often told me not to play with fire," effectively maintaining the original message's meaning while expressing it in an indirect speech format. This is the appropriate way to convey the original statement in indirect speech.
Why are you working so hard, I asked him.
"I asked him why he was working so hard," correctly changes the sentence from direct speech to indirect speech. In the original direct speech, the speaker asked, "Why are you working so hard?" In the indirect form, the question is reported as "why he was working so hard," maintaining the original question's meaning while expressing it in an indirect speech format. This is the appropriate way to convey the original statement in indirect speech.
Mike asked me, "Did you see the Cricket match on the television last night?"
"Mike asked me whether I had seen the Cricket match on television the earlier night," is almost correct. However, there's a minor grammatical error. It should be:
"Mike asked me whether I had seen the Cricket match on television the previous night."
In this corrected version, "the previous night" is more commonly used to refer to the night before the current day. Other than that, your transformation accurately conveys the original question's meaning in indirect speech.
Will you have the suit done by tomorrow evening, the tailor asked him.
"The tailor asked him if he would have the suit ready by the next evening," accurately changes the sentence from direct speech to indirect speech. In the original direct speech, the tailor asked, "Will you have the suit done by tomorrow evening?" In the indirect form, the question is reported as "if he would have the suit ready by the next evening," maintaining the original question's meaning while expressing it in an indirect speech format. This is the appropriate way to convey the original statement in indirect speech.
He spoke. "Sit quietly and pay attention to what I have to say.
"He urged them to be quiet and listen to his words," accurately changes the sentence from direct speech to indirect speech. In the original direct speech, the speaker said, "Sit quietly and pay attention to what I have to say." In the indirect form, the message is reported as "He urged them to be quiet and listen to his words," effectively maintaining the original message's meaning while expressing it in an indirect speech format. This is the appropriate way to convey the original statement in indirect speech.
Angelo said to me, "If I hear any news, I'll phone you."
"Angelo told me that if he heard any news, he would phone me," accurately changes the sentence from direct speech to indirect speech. In the original direct speech, Angelo said, "If I hear any news, I'll phone you." In the indirect form, this statement is reported as "Angelo told me that if he heard any news, he would phone me," effectively maintaining the original statement's meaning while expressing it in an indirect speech format. This is the appropriate way to convey the original statement in indirect speech.
Could you repeat the question, he asked the interviewer?
"He requested the interviewer to repeat the question," accurately changes the sentence from direct speech to indirect speech. In the original direct speech, the speaker asked, "Could you repeat the question?" In the indirect form, the request is reported as "He requested the interviewer to repeat the question," effectively maintaining the original request's meaning while expressing it in an indirect speech format. This is the appropriate way to convey the original statement in indirect speech.
It was a chilly day, he told her.
What a chilly day! is the straight phrase that is stated.
We must take into account the reporting verb, "He said to her," in order to translate this into indirect speech.
The reporting verb "said" becomes "told" in indirect speech, while the exclamation becomes "exclaimed."
The pronoun "her" also becomes "her."
Now, we must modify the reported speech's tense in accordance with the indirect speech's rules. There is no direct counterpart to the phrase "What a cold day!" in the reported speech. Therefore, we must use an exclamation or an appropriate emotional term to convey the same notion.
Option D, "He shouted that it was a very cold day," matches the best of the available possibilities since it employs the reporting verb "exclaimed" and intensifies it with "very" to suggest the speaker's astonishment or emotion regarding the chilly weather.
Therefore, Option D is the right response.