Question

Direct speech of: She prayed that God might save him. is

• A. She said, "May God save him !"
• B. She says, "Should God save him ?"
• C. She asks, "Do God save him ?"
• D. She says, "Would God save him ?"

Hint:

Remember the structure for optative sentences in direct speech: `May + Subject + Verb!`. When you see reporting verbs like 'prayed' or 'wished' in indirect speech, look for this "May..." structure in the direct speech options.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This question involves converting an optative sentence (a sentence expressing a prayer, wish, or curse) from indirect to direct speech.

Step 2: Key Rules for Conversion:
1. Reporting Verb: The reporting verb 'prayed' (or 'wished', 'cursed', etc.) is changed to 'said'. The sense of prayer is conveyed by the structure of the direct speech.
2. Conjunction: The conjunction 'that' is removed.
3. Structure and Modal Verb: Optative sentences in direct speech typically begin with 'May'. The modal verb 'might' in indirect speech changes to 'May' in direct speech.
4. Punctuation: The sentence ends with an exclamation mark.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Applying the rules to "She prayed that God might save him.":
- 'She prayed' becomes 'She said,'. (The reporting verb in the original sentence is in the past tense, so 'said' is appropriate, not 'says' or 'asks').
- 'that' is removed.
- 'God might save him' becomes "May God save him".
- The sentence is enclosed in quotation marks and ends with an exclamation mark.
This results in: She said, "May God save him!"
Option (A) is a perfect match. Options (B), (C), and (D) are incorrect as they are interrogative sentences (questions) and use the wrong reporting verbs or tenses.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The correct direct speech is She said, "May God save him !".