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.
Gokul said to Sumit, "Why did not you attend the meeting yesterday?"
- AGokul asked Sumit why he did not attend the meeting the day before.
- BGokul asked Sumit why he had not attended that meeting yesterday.
- CGokul asked Sumit why he had not attended the meeting the day before.
- DGokul asked Sumit why he did not attend that meeting yesterday.
Solution & Step-by-step Explanation
When converting the interrogative direct speech into indirect speech, several rules apply:
Reporting Verb: "said to" changes to asked.
Conjunction: For questions starting with a wh-word ("Why"), the same wh-word acts as the connector, and the sentence structure becomes assertive (subject + verb).
Tense Change: The reporting verb is in the past tense, so the Simple Past tense inside quotes ("did not attend") changes to the Past Perfect tense (had not attended).
Pronoun Change: The second person pronoun "you" changes according to the object "Sumit", becoming he.
Time Adverbial Change: "yesterday" changes to the day before or the previous day.
Putting it all together: Gokul asked Sumit why he had not attended the meeting the day before.
Reporting Verb: "said to" changes to asked.
Conjunction: For questions starting with a wh-word ("Why"), the same wh-word acts as the connector, and the sentence structure becomes assertive (subject + verb).
Tense Change: The reporting verb is in the past tense, so the Simple Past tense inside quotes ("did not attend") changes to the Past Perfect tense (had not attended).
Pronoun Change: The second person pronoun "you" changes according to the object "Sumit", becoming he.
Time Adverbial Change: "yesterday" changes to the day before or the previous day.
Putting it all together: Gokul asked Sumit why he had not attended the meeting the day before.