In the following question, a sentence has been given in Direct/Indirect speech. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one, which best express the same sentence in Indirect/Direct speech.
Teacher said to children, "Have you prepared well for the finals?"
- ATeacher asked the children whether they have prepared well for the finals.
- BTeacher asked the children whether they have been preparing well for the finals.
- CTeacher asked the children if they did prepare well for the finals.
- DTeacher asked the children if they had prepared well for the finals.
Solution & Step-by-step Explanation
Rules for converting Direct Interrogative sentence into Indirect speech:
"said to" changes to "asked".
Comma and inverted commas are replaced by "if" or "whether".
The tense of the reported speech shifts back from Present Perfect ("Have you prepared") to Past Perfect ("had prepared").
Second-person pronoun "you" changes according to the object ("children"), becoming "they".
Following these changes: "Teacher asked the children if they had prepared well for the finals."
"said to" changes to "asked".
Comma and inverted commas are replaced by "if" or "whether".
The tense of the reported speech shifts back from Present Perfect ("Have you prepared") to Past Perfect ("had prepared").
Second-person pronoun "you" changes according to the object ("children"), becoming "they".
Following these changes: "Teacher asked the children if they had prepared well for the finals."