Question

Convert the given sentence into indirect speech:
The gatekeeper said to him, ``Are you going to your House?''

• A. The gatekeeper asked him if he is going to his house.
• B. The gatekeeper asked him if he was going to his house.
• C. The gatekeeper asks him if he is going to his house.
• D. The gatekeeper asked him if he goes to his house.

Hint:

Always check the tense change first. A past tense reporting verb ('said') requires a tense shift inside. 'Are going' (Present Continuous) must shift to 'was going' (Past Continuous). This eliminates options A, C, and D immediately!

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Concept: When converting an interrogative sentence from direct speech to indirect speech, we apply several structural grammar rules:

• Reporting Verb Change: The reporting verb "said to" shifts into an inquiring action verb like "asked", "enquired", or "interrogated" because the direct statement is a question.

• Connector Application: For interrogatives that start with an auxiliary verb (like "Are", "Is", "Do", "Have"), we remove the quotation marks and introduce the conjunctions if or whether.

• Tense Shifting Rule (Backshifting): If the reporting clause is in the past tense ("said"), the present continuous tense ("Are you going") in the reported clause shifts back to the past continuous tense ("was/were going").

• Pronoun Adaptations: The second-person pronoun "you" changes based on the object of the reporting verb ("him"), becoming "he". The possessive determiner "your" changes to "his".

• Sentence Structure: The interrogative sentence structure inversion changes back into an assertive sentence format (subject preceding verb).

Step 1: Step-by-Step implementation of transformations.
Let us track the transformation of each segment explicitly: \[ \text{Direct: } \underbrace{\text{The gatekeeper said to him,}}_{\text{Reporting Clause}} \quad \text{``}\underbrace{\text{Are you going to your House?}}_{\text{Reported Interrogative Clause}}\text{''} \]

• Change "said to him" into "

asked him".

• Drop quotation marks and insert the connector "

if".

• Transform the question format "Are you going..." to an assertive path. Under backshifting, "you" matches "him" $\rightarrow$ "

he".

• Change present continuous "are going" to past continuous for singular subject "he" $\rightarrow$ "

was going".

• Change "your House" to "

his house".

Step 2: Evaluating the options based on these steps.
Let us verify the given options:

• Option (A): Uses "is going". This fails because it leaves the tense in the present, violating the backshifting rule.

• Option (B): Grammatically flawless. "The gatekeeper asked him if he was going to his house." It applies all transformation rules correctly.

• Option (C): Changes the reporting verb to present tense "asks", which is incorrect as the original sentence used the past tense "said".

• Option (D): Transforms "are going" into the simple past "goes/went" (expressed poorly as "goes"), failing to maintain the continuous aspect of the action.
Hence, Option (B) is the correct indirect speech conversion.