Question

Direct speech of: He asked me if I knew him.

• A. He said to me, "Did you know me?"
• B. He said to me, "Do you know me?"
• C. He enquired me, "Did you knew me ?"
• D. He asked me, "Do you known me ?"

Hint:

Remember the tense shift: Simple Present in direct speech becomes Simple Past in indirect speech. So, working backwards, Simple Past in indirect speech becomes Simple Present in direct speech.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This question asks to convert a sentence from indirect (reported) speech to direct speech.

Step 2: Key Rules for Conversion:
1. Reporting Verb: 'asked me' becomes 'said to me,'.
2. Conjunction: 'if' is removed, and the sentence is framed as a question.
3. Tense Change: The simple past tense ('knew') in indirect speech changes back to the simple present tense ('know') in direct speech.
4. Pronoun Change: The pronoun 'I' (referring to 'me') becomes 'you'. The pronoun 'him' (referring to 'He') becomes 'me'.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Applying the rules to "He asked me if I knew him.":
- 'He asked me' becomes 'He said to me,'.
- 'if' is removed.
- 'I knew' becomes "Do you know". We use 'Do' to form the present simple question.
- 'him' becomes "me".
- Enclose in quotation marks and add a question mark.
This gives us: He said to me, "Do you know me?"
Let's check the options:
(A) "Did you know me?" - This is in the simple past, which would correspond to 'if I had known him' in indirect speech. Incorrect.
(B) "Do you know me?" - Correctly uses the simple present tense.
(C) "Did you knew me ?" - Grammatically incorrect ('did' is followed by the base form 'know', not 'knew').
(D) "Do you known me ?" - Grammatically incorrect ('known' is a past participle).

Step 4: Final Answer:
The correct direct speech is He said to me, "Do you know me?".