Direction​: In the following question, a sentence is given in Direct/Indirect…

Solution

Correct answer: The Queen ordered the guard to fetch the thief at once.

Explanation

• Identify the sentence type: The direct speech "Fetch the thief at once." is an imperative (a command).

• Choose a reporting verb that matches the tone: For commands use verbs like ordered, commanded; for polite requests use asked or requested.

• Structure for reported imperatives: reporting verb (past tense) + person + to + base verb. Example: "Queen said to the guard, 'Fetch the thief at once.'" → "The Queen ordered the guard to fetch the thief at once."

• Do not use the conjunction "that" before the infinitive when reporting an imperative. Use the infinitive form with "to" as shown above.

• Special case: when the direct imperative begins with "let" (for example, "Please let me go."), reported speech typically uses "to let" with pronoun changes: "He requested the boss to let him go."

• Punctuation and quotations are removed in reported speech; change final punctuation to a full stop when appropriate.

Why the other options are not correct

• "The Queen requested the guard to fetch the thief at once." weakens the original command because "requested" implies a polite plea rather than an order.

• "The Queen said to the guard to fetch the thief at once." is ungrammatical in this reporting structure; use "told the guard to..." or, to preserve the command, "ordered the guard to..."

• "The Queen asked the guard to fetch the thief at once." also changes the tone to a polite request, which does not match the urgent command in the original sentence.

Final transformed sentence: The Queen ordered the guard to fetch the thief at once.