Change the following sentence to Indirect Speech. The passenger asked the ticket collector, "Is this train running late?".
The passenger asked the ticket collector if that train was running late.
Understanding Direct and Indirect Speech Conversion
The task is to convert a sentence from Direct Speech to Indirect Speech. The original sentence is:
The passenger asked the ticket collector, "Is this train running late?".
This sentence is a direct question where the exact words spoken by the passenger are quoted.
Rules for Converting Questions to Indirect Speech
When converting a direct question (especially a yes/no question) to indirect speech, several changes are necessary:
- The reporting verb "asked" remains the same.
- For yes/no questions, the conjunction 'if' or 'whether' is used to introduce the reported clause.
- The word order changes from interrogative (verb before subject) to declarative (subject before verb).
- Tenses shift: Present Continuous ("is running") changes to Past Continuous ("was running").
- Demonstratives like "this" change to "that".
- Punctuation changes: the comma and quotation marks are removed, and a period is added at the end.
Step-by-Step Conversion
- Reporting Verb and Conjunction: The reporting verb is 'asked'. Since it's a yes/no question, we use 'if'. The sentence structure becomes: "The passenger asked the ticket collector if..."
- Subject and Verb Order: The direct question is "Is this train running late?". The subject is "this train" and the verb is "is running". In indirect speech, this becomes "this train was running".
- Pronoun/Demonstrative Change: The demonstrative "this" needs to change to "that" when reporting speech later. So, "this train" becomes "that train".
- Tense Change: The Present Continuous tense "is running" changes to the Past Continuous tense "was running".
- Combining the parts: Putting it all together: "The passenger asked the ticket collector if that train was running late."
Analyzing the Options
Let's examine why the correct option fits the rules:
- Option 1: "The passenger asked the ticket collector if this train has been running late" - Incorrect because "this" should be "that", and the tense change from "is running" (Present Continuous) should be to "was running" (Past Continuous), not "has been running" (Present Perfect Continuous).
- Option 2: "The passenger asked the ticket collector if that train was running late." - This option correctly applies all the rules: reporting verb 'asked', conjunction 'if', changed demonstrative 'that', correct tense shift 'was running', and declarative word order.
- Option 3: "The passenger wanted to know if the train will be running late." - Incorrect because the reporting verb is changed unnecessarily, and the tense "will be running" (Future Continuous) is also incorrect.
- Option 4: "The ticket collector was asked by the passenger if this train is running late." - Incorrect structure (passive voice reporting) and incorrect demonstrative "this" and tense "is running".
Final Indirect Speech Sentence
The correctly converted sentence in Indirect Speech is:
The passenger asked the ticket collector if that train was running late.
Similar Questions
- Choose the correct idiom for the word highlighted in bold.
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Important Questions from Direct and Indirect Speech
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Directions: A sentence has been given in Direct/Indirect speech. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in Indirect/Direct speech.
The duty officer said, "It is unlikely that fulfillment of these criteria and conditions can be accomplished in less than 48 hours".
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Choose the option that is the indirect form of the sentence.
A new student said to me, "Where is the Principal's office?"
