Question

Change any one of the following into indirect narration: Mahesh said to Reeta, “What are you doing here?”
The teacher said to the students, “Do not quarrel with one another.”

Hint:

In indirect speech:
- Interrogative sentences usually use “asked” or “inquired”.
- Imperative sentences usually use “advised”, “ordered”, or “requested”.
- Words showing nearness like “here”, “now”, “today” are changed to “there”, “then”, “that day”.

Answer 1

Mahesh asked Reeta what she was doing there.
Explanation:
When changing an interrogative sentence into indirect speech:
- The reporting verb “said to” changes into “asked”.
- The question mark is removed.
- The conjunction “what” is used to connect the reporting clause with the reported clause.
- “Are” changes to “was” because the reporting verb is in past tense.
- “Here” changes to “there” to maintain proper sense.
The teacher advised the students not to quarrel with one another.
Explanation:
When changing an imperative sentence into indirect speech:
- The reporting verb “said to” changes into “advised”.
- The negative command “Do not” is changed into “not to”.
- The meaning of the sentence remains the same but structure is adjusted.