Converting Direct Speech to Indirect Speech

The question asks us to transform a sentence from direct speech into indirect speech. Direct speech uses the exact words spoken, while indirect speech reports what was said without using the exact words. This process involves several changes to tense, pronouns, and sentence structure.

The original sentence in direct speech is:

"Hari said to the boy, "What's the matter? Why are you crying? Be cheerful.""

This sentence contains three parts: two interrogative sentences (questions) and one imperative sentence (command/advice).

Understanding Direct to Indirect Speech Rules

Converting direct speech to indirect speech requires specific changes:

• The reporting verb changes depending on the type of sentence. 'Said to' often changes to 'asked' for questions and 'asked', 'told', or 'advised' for commands.
• Tenses typically shift back (e.g., simple present becomes simple past, present continuous becomes past continuous).
• Pronouns change to reflect the speaker and the person being addressed from the perspective of the reporter.
• Sentence structure changes, especially for questions and commands. Questions turn into statement form, and commands often use an infinitive structure ('to' + base verb).
• Conjunctions like 'that' (for statements), 'if' or 'whether' (for yes/no questions), or the question word itself (for Wh- questions) are used to connect the reporting clause to the reported clause.

Applying the Rules to the Sentence

Let's convert each part of Hari's speech:

Part 1: "What's the matter?"

This is a Wh- question ("What is the matter?").

• The reporting verb 'said to' becomes 'asked' because it's a question.
• The question word 'What' is retained.
• The tense "is" (present simple) changes to "was" (past simple).
• The structure changes from question form ("What is...") to statement form ("what the matter was").

Conversion of Part 1: "Hari asked the boy what the matter was."

Part 2: "Why are you crying?"

This is another Wh- question.

• The reporting verb 'asked' from the first part carries over or is implied.
• The question word 'Why' is retained.
• The tense "are crying" (present continuous) changes to "was crying" (past continuous).
• The pronoun 'you' refers to the boy, so it changes to 'he'.
• The structure changes from question form ("Why are you...") to statement form ("why he was...").

Conversion of Part 2: "... and why he was crying." (This joins with the first part using 'and').

Part 3: "Be cheerful."

This is an imperative sentence (a piece of advice or a soft command).

• The reporting verb can be 'asked', 'told', or 'advised'. 'Asked' or 'advised' fits well here. Let's use 'asked' as in the first part.
• The structure becomes 'reporting verb + object + to + base verb'. The object is 'him' (referring to the boy), and the base verb of 'Be cheerful' is 'be'.

Conversion of Part 3: "He asked him to be cheerful." (This is typically reported as a separate clause or sentence).

Combining the Converted Parts

Putting all the converted parts together, the indirect speech becomes:

Hari asked the boy what the matter was and why he was crying. He asked him to be cheerful.

Comparing with the Options

Let's compare our converted sentence with the given options:

Conclusion: Identifying the Correct Indirect Speech

Based on our step-by-step conversion and comparison with the rules of direct and indirect speech, Option 1 accurately represents the given sentence in indirect speech.

Revision Table: Direct and Indirect Speech Conversions

Additional Information: Common Pitfalls in Indirect Speech

When converting to indirect speech, be careful about common mistakes:

• Tense Consistency: Ensure the tense of the reporting verb and the reported speech are consistent and follow the backshift rules.
• Question Structure: Always change the question structure back to a statement structure (Subject + Verb) after the reporting verb and conjunction (if/whether or Wh- word). Do not use question marks in indirect speech unless the reporting verb itself is in a question (e.g., "Did he ask if you were ready?").
• Pronoun Changes: Carefully identify who is speaking and who is being spoken to in the original sentence to correctly change pronouns.
• Time and Place Adverbs: Words indicating proximity in time or place (like 'now', 'here', 'this', 'today', 'tomorrow') often change to words indicating distance (like 'then', 'there', 'that', 'that day', 'the next day'). The original sentence didn't have these, but it's an important rule.