Question

I couldn't move the piano alone, so I said,"Do you think you could give me a hand, Tom?"

Convert into direct speech in indirect speech:

• A. I told Tom that do you think you could give me a hand.
• B. I asked Tom to give me a hand.
• C. I requested Tom to give me a hand.
• D. I asked Tom if he thought he could give me a hand.

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

The two ways of relating what a person has said are 1)direct and 2)indirect (reported).

In the direct speech, the exact words of the original speaker are repeated.

In the indirect speech (reported speech), the exact meaning of what the speaker told is expressed but not necessarily in the speaker’s exact words.

Option D is correct as the question in the inverted commas is in the simple present tense and the appropriate introductory verb 'asked' is used with the appropriate preposition 'if'.

Options A, B, and C are wrong as 'told', 'to' and 'requested' cannot be used respectively.

The correct answer is D)I asked Tom if he thought he could give me a hand