Choose the option that is the indirect form of the sentence. She said, "Are…
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Choose the option that is the indirect form of the sentence.
She said, "Are they waiting for my mother?"
- A.
She asked whether they are waiting for her mother.
- B.
She asked that they were waiting for her mother.
- C.
She asked whether they were waiting for my mother.
- D.
She asked whether they were waiting for her mother.
Attempted by 37 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Solution
Correct indirect form: She asked whether they were waiting for her mother.
Reporting verb: change the reporting verb to indicate a question. "said" becomes "asked" because the original sentence is a question.
Use a subordinating word: when a direct question begins with an auxiliary (here "Are"), use "whether" (or "if") to introduce the reported question.
Tense change: Present continuous "are waiting" shifts to past continuous "were waiting" in indirect speech.
Pronoun change: "my mother" becomes "her mother" because the speaker is third person ("She").
Punctuation: remove the quotation marks and the question mark when forming indirect speech.
Example:
Direct: She said, "Are they waiting for my mother?"
Indirect: She asked whether they were waiting for her mother.