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Question

A sentence is provided in direct speech. From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence in its corresponding indirect speech.
He said, "You must work hard."

This question was previously asked in
SSC CGL 2025 Tier 1 Question Paper (25-Sep-2025) (Shift 3)
The correct answer is
He said that I had to work hard.

The question asks to convert a sentence from direct speech to indirect speech. The sentence is: He said, "You must work hard."

Converting Direct to Indirect Speech

To convert direct speech to indirect speech, we need to consider changes in pronouns, verb tense, and the use of conjunctions.

Step 1: Reporting Verb and Conjunction

The reporting verb is "said". For statements, we usually add the conjunction "that" after the reporting verb.

So, it starts with: $He said that$

Step 2: Pronoun Change

The pronoun "You" is in the second person. When reporting speech, if the listener is not specified or if the speaker is reporting their own understanding of what was said to them, "You" often changes to "I".

So, we have: $He said that I$

Step 3: Verb Tense Change (Modal Verb)

The modal verb "must" used in the direct speech needs to be changed for indirect speech. When reporting a past statement, "must" typically changes to "had to".

The verb phrase becomes: $had to work hard$

Step 4: Combine the Parts

Putting it all together, the indirect speech becomes:

$He said that I had to work hard.$

Option Analysis

  • Option 1: $He said I must work hard.$ - Incorrect. Pronoun 'You' to 'I' change is missing, and 'must' is not changed.
  • Option 2: $He said that I had to work hard.$ - Correct. Follows all rules: 'that' is used, 'You' changes to 'I', and 'must' changes to 'had to'.
  • Option 3: $He said that you must work hard.$ - Incorrect. Pronoun 'You' remains unchanged.
  • Option 4: $He said that I have to work hard.$ - Incorrect. While 'have to' is sometimes used, 'had to' is the more standard past tense conversion for 'must' in reported speech.

Therefore, the most accurate indirect speech conversion is Option 2.

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Similar Questions

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Important Questions from Direct and Indirect Speech

  1. Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.

    “How beautiful she is!” said Betty.

  2. Select the correct direct form of the given sentence.

    I told my parents not to worry about me.

  3. Direction: Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.

    He said to me, “Your father is waiting for you at the reception.”

  4. Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.

    He said to Manoj, “I celebrated my birthday two days ago.”

  5. Select the most appropriate indirect form of the given sentence.

    Jayesh said to Diwakar, "You can top the class if you want to."

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