Question:

She said to him, "Why don't you go today?"
Select the option that correctly converts the above sentence into indirect speech.

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Reported why-questions use asked; also shift don't to did not and today to that day.
Updated On: Jul 16, 2026
  • She said to him that why he don't go today
  • She asked him if he was going that day
  • She asked him why he did not go today
  • She asked him why he did not go that day.
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

This question checks how a direct "why" question is converted into indirect speech, including the change of tense, the change of the negative auxiliary, and the shift of the time word "today".

  1. Option A: "She said to him that why he don't go today" is incorrect because it mixes "said to him" with a question word after "that", which is not how a question is reported (the reporting verb should become "asked", not stay as "said to"), the auxiliary "don't" has not been shifted to the past ("did not"), and "today" has not been changed to "that day".
  2. Option B: "She asked him if he was going that day" changes the meaning of the question. The original sentence asks for a reason ("why don't you go"), but "if he was going" turns it into a yes/no question about whether he was going at all, dropping the "why" entirely. It also uses the continuous tense instead of the simple tense the original sentence needs.
  3. Option C: "She asked him why he did not go today" gets the reporting verb, the question word "why", and the tense shift ("did not go") all correct, but it misses one required change: the time word "today" must become "that day" once the sentence is reported, since "today" only makes sense from the speaker's original moment of speaking.
  4. Option D: "She asked him why he did not go that day" applies every rule correctly: "asked" as the reporting verb, "why" retained as the connector, "don't go" shifted to "did not go", and "today" shifted to "that day".

Option D makes all the necessary changes together, so it is the correct answer.

Let's summarize:

  • A direct question reported in the past always needs "asked", never "said to... that" with a question word.
  • Present tense negatives like "don't" shift to past tense ("did not") in reported speech.
  • Time markers like "today" become "that day"; don't leave them unchanged.

Checking all three changes together is what separates option C from the fully correct option D.

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