Question

Direct speech of: Hari asked Sheela if she had taught her sister. is

• A. Hari said to Sheela, "Did you teach my sister ?"
• B. Hari said to Sheela, "Do you teach his sister ?"
• C. Hari said to Sheela, "Do you teach my sister ?"
• D. Hari said to Sheela, "Have you taught your sister ?"

Hint:

When converting from indirect to direct speech, always work backwards with the rules of tense, pronoun, and structure. Pay close attention to pronouns as they are a common source of errors.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This question requires converting an interrogative sentence from indirect (reported) speech to direct speech.

Step 2: Key Rules for Conversion:
1. Reporting Verb: 'asked' becomes 'said to'.
2. Conjunction: 'if' is removed, and the sentence is structured as a direct question ending with a question mark.
3. Tense Change: The past perfect tense ('had taught') in indirect speech changes back to either simple past ('Did you teach...') or present perfect ('Have you taught...') in direct speech.
4. Pronoun Change: The pronoun 'she' (referring to Sheela) becomes 'you'. The pronoun 'her' (referring to Sheela's) becomes 'your'.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Let's apply the rules to the given sentence: "Hari asked Sheela if she had taught her sister."
- 'Hari asked Sheela' becomes 'Hari said to Sheela,'.
- 'if' is removed.
- 'she had taught' becomes "Have you taught" or "Did you teach".
- 'her sister' becomes "your sister".
- The sentence must be enclosed in quotation marks and end with a question mark.
This gives us two possibilities:
a) Hari said to Sheela, "Have you taught your sister?"
b) Hari said to Sheela, "Did you teach your sister?"
Looking at the options, option (D) matches possibility (a) perfectly. The other options use incorrect pronouns ('my', 'his') or incorrect tense ('Do you teach').

Step 4: Final Answer:
The correct direct speech is Hari said to Sheela, "Have you taught your sister ?".