Question

Rewrite the following sentence by changing into indirect speech :
The mother said to her son, "Why are you not paying attention to your books these days?"

Hint:

When converting a Wh-question to indirect speech, use the Wh-word as a linker, change the question into a statement, and shift the tense, pronouns, and time/place words appropriately.

Answer 1

The mother asked her son why he was not paying attention to his books those days.
Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This question requires converting a direct interrogative sentence (a question) into indirect (reported) speech.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
1. The reporting verb 'said to' changes to 'asked' because the sentence is a question.
2. The question word 'Why' acts as the conjunction, so no other conjunction like 'that' or 'if' is needed.
3. The sentence structure changes from a question to a statement (subject + verb). So, "are you" becomes "he was".
4. The present continuous tense ("are not paying") changes to the past continuous tense ("was not paying").
5. The pronoun 'you' changes to 'he' (referring to the son), and 'your' changes to 'his'.
6. The adverb of time 'these days' changes to 'those days'.