Question

Rewrite the following sentence by changing it into Indirect Speech :
"Is this the way to the new Parliament Building ?" a motorist asked the policeman.

Hint:

In indirect speech for questions, remember to change the question mark (?) to a full stop (.). The word order must be subject + verb (e.g., 'if that was...'), not verb + subject (e.g., 'if was that...').

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The task is to convert a direct question (reported speech) into indirect (reported) speech. The original sentence is an interrogative sentence.
Step 2: Key Concepts for Conversion:
When converting an interrogative sentence from direct to indirect speech, we follow these rules:

The reporting verb 'asked' is used.

The question is converted into a statement.

The conjunction 'if' or 'whether' is used to introduce the reported clause.

The tense of the verb in the reported speech changes (Present Tense $rightarrow$ Past Tense). Here, 'is' will become 'was'.

Words denoting nearness are changed to words denoting distance. Here, 'this' will become 'that'.


Step 3: Applying the Rules:
Applying the rules to the given sentence:

Direct Speech: "Is this the way to the new Parliament Building ?" a motorist asked the policeman.

The reporting part is "a motorist asked the policeman".

We introduce 'if'.

We change 'this is' to 'that was' and rearrange it into a statement form.

Indirect Speech: A motorist asked the policeman if that was the way to the new Parliament Building.