Select the option that expresses the given sentence in direct speech.
Kavi asked Gina if French was her mother tongue.

Question

Select the option that expresses the given sentence in direct speech.Kavi asked Gina if French was her mother tongue.

Prepp Team · Accepted Answer

Understanding Direct and Indirect Speech

Let's break down the difference between direct speech and indirect speech before we convert the sentence.

Direct Speech: This is when we quote the exact words spoken by someone. Quotation marks (“”) are used to enclose the spoken words. The reporting verb (like 'said', 'asked', 'told') is usually followed or preceded by the spoken words. Example: John said, “I am happy.”
Indirect Speech: This is when we report what someone said without quoting their exact words. We usually use a conjunction (like 'that', 'if', 'whether') and change the verb tense, pronouns, and sometimes time/place adverbs. Example: John said that he was happy.

The given sentence, "Kavi asked Gina if French was her mother tongue," is in indirect speech. It reports a question that Kavi asked Gina.

Converting Indirect Question to Direct Speech

When converting an indirect question back to direct speech, especially a yes/no question (which uses 'if' or 'whether' in indirect speech), we need to reverse the changes made:

The conjunction 'if' or 'whether' is removed.
The sentence structure changes back to an interrogative form (a question).
The reporting verb 'asked' is kept as it is appropriate for questions.
Verb tenses are shifted back (e.g., past tense 'was' goes back to present tense 'is').
Pronouns are changed from reporting perspective ('her') back to the speaker's perspective addressing the listener ('your').
Quotation marks are added around the direct question.

Analyzing the Sentence and Options

The original indirect sentence is: "Kavi asked Gina if French was her mother tongue."

Let's apply the conversion rules:

The core question is about "French" being "mother tongue".
The indirect speech uses "was", so the direct speech tense should be "is".
The indirect speech uses "her" (referring to Gina), so the direct speech should use "your" (addressing Gina directly).
The indirect structure "if French was her mother tongue" needs to become a direct question structure.

Putting it together, the direct question Kavi asked Gina was: “Is French your mother tongue?”.

Now let's evaluate the given options:

Option 1: “Whether French is your mother tongue?” Kavi asked Gina.
- This option uses 'Whether' at the start of the quote, which is incorrect for direct speech.
- The structure within the quotes is not a standard question structure ("French is..." instead of "Is French...?").
Option 2: “Your mother tongue is French,” Kavi enquired Gina.
- This is a statement, not a question.
- The reporting verb 'enquired' suggests a question was asked, which contradicts the quoted statement.
Option 3: “French is your mother tongue,” Kavi told Gina.
- This is also a statement, not a question.
- While 'told' fits a statement, the original indirect sentence clearly indicates a question was asked ('asked').
Option 4: “Is French your mother tongue?” Kavi asked Gina.
- The quoted part is a direct question asking about "French" being "your mother tongue".
- The tense is "Is", correctly reversing "was".
- The pronoun is "your", correctly reversing "her".
- The reporting clause "Kavi asked Gina" is appropriate for a question.

Comparing the derived direct speech “Is French your mother tongue?” with the options, Option 4 is the correct representation.

Correct Direct Speech Conversion

The sentence "Kavi asked Gina if French was her mother tongue" correctly converts to direct speech as:

“Is French your mother tongue?” Kavi asked Gina.

Indirect Speech Element	Conversion Rule	Direct Speech Element
asked	Reporting verb for question (remains same)	asked
if	Removed for direct yes/no question	(removed)
French was her mother tongue	Statement structure, past tense, third-person pronoun	Question structure, present tense, second-person pronoun
was	Shift back one tense	is
her (referring to Gina)	Change to pronoun addressing listener	your

Revision Table: Direct and Indirect Speech Conversion

Indirect Speech Type	Reporting Verb Example	Conjunction	Sentence Structure (Indirect)	Verb Tense Change (e.g., Simple Present → Simple Past)	Pronoun Change (e.g., I → he/she, my → his/her)	Conversion to Direct Speech
Statement	said, told	that	Subject + Verb + ...	Yes	Yes	Exact words in “”
Question (Yes/No)	asked, enquired	if/whether	Subject + Verb + ... (statement structure)	Yes	Yes	Exact question in “” (Question structure)
Question (Wh- word)	asked, enquired	Wh- word (who, what, where, etc.)	Subject + Verb + ... (statement structure)	Yes	Yes	Exact question in “” (Question structure)
Command/Request	told, ordered, requested	to + infinitive	to + Verb + ...	No (infinitive form)	Yes	Exact command/request in “”

Additional Information on Speech Conversion

Converting between direct and indirect speech is a key topic in English grammar. Mastering the rules for changing tenses, pronouns, time expressions (like 'now' to 'then', 'today' to 'that day'), and place expressions (like 'here' to 'there') is essential for accurate conversion.

Remember the common changes:

Simple Present → Simple Past
Present Continuous → Past Continuous
Present Perfect → Past Perfect
Simple Past → Past Perfect
Will → Would
Can → Could
May → Might
This → That
These → Those
Here → There
Now → Then
Today → That day
Tomorrow → The next day / the following day
Yesterday → The previous day / the day before

Pay close attention to the type of sentence (statement, question, command) as it dictates the reporting verb, conjunction, and sentence structure in indirect speech.