Question

Choose the correct narrated form for the following sentence :
He said to me, "Where are you going?"

• A. He says where I am going.
• B. He told me where I was going.
• C. He asked me where they are going.
• D. He asked me where I was going.

Hint:

For Wh-questions in indirect speech (when reporting verb is past): 1. Reporting verb \(\rightarrow\) "asked". 2. Wh-word (Where, What, etc.) stays and acts as a connector. 3. Change the question part into a statement (subject before verb). 4. Pronouns change (e.g., you \(\rightarrow\) I/he/she/they). 5. Verb tense "backshifts" (e.g., present continuous \(\rightarrow\) past continuous). Direct: "Where {are you} going?" Indirect (He asked me...): "...where {I was} going."

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Concept: This question requires converting an interrogative (question) sentence from direct speech to indirect (reported) speech.

Step 1: Identify the components of the direct speech 
Reporting verb: "said to me" 
Type of sentence: Interrogative (Wh-question: "Where...") 
Verb in reported clause: "are going" (Present Continuous) 
Pronoun in reported clause: "you" (refers to "me," the listener)

Step 2: Rules for converting interrogative sentences to indirect speech % Option (A) Reporting Verb: "said to" changes to "asked" (or "enquired of," "wondered," etc., but "asked" is most common). % Option (B) Conjunction: % Option (C) For Wh-questions (who, what, where, when, why, how), the Wh-word itself acts as the conjunction. Do not use "that." % Option (D) For Yes/No questions, use "if" or "whether." % Option (E) Sentence Structure: The interrogative form of the reported speech changes to an assertive (statement) form. This means the subject comes before the verb. (Question: "Where \underline{are you} going?" \(\rightarrow\) Statement form: "...where \underline{I was} going.") % Option (F) Pronouns: Change according to the speaker and listener. "you" (referring to "me") becomes "I". % Option (G) Tense Change (if reporting verb is past, like "said to"): % Option (H) Present Continuous ("are going") changes to Past Continuous ("was going"). % Option (I) Question Mark: The question mark is removed and replaced with a full stop (period).

Step 3: Apply the rules Direct: He said to me, "Where are you going?" 
"said to me" becomes "asked me". 
Wh-word "Where" acts as the conjunction. 
"you" (referring to "me") becomes "I". 
"are going" (Present Continuous) becomes "was going" (Past Continuous). 
The structure becomes assertive: "where I was going". Indirect: He asked me where I was going.

Step 4: Compare with the options 
(1) He says where I am going. (Reporting verb "says" incorrect tense; verb "am going" incorrect tense) 
(2) He told me where I was going. (Reporting verb "told" is usually for statements, "asked" is better for questions) 
(3) He asked me where they are going. (Pronoun "they" incorrect; verb "are going" incorrect tense) 
(4) He asked me where I was going. (All changes correctly applied) Option (4) is the correctly narrated form.