Indirect form of the sentence is:He said to me, "Why have you come late?"
Correct answer: A. He asked me why I had come late
- A. He asked me why I had come late
- B. He asked me why I came late
- C. He asked me why I have come late
- D. He told me as to why I had come late
Explanation
Reported or indirect speech is usually used to talk about the past, so we normally change the tense of the words spoken. We use reporting verbs like 'say', 'tell', and 'ask', and we may use the word 'that' to introduce the reported words. When the reporting verb is in the past tense (said) and the direct speech is in the past indefinite tense, then the indirect speech will change into the past perfect tense and if the sentence is interrogative, reporting verbs are used- asked, enquired, etc. Thus, Option A is the correct answer.
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About Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct speech gives a speaker’s exact words, whereas indirect speech reports the meaning without quotation marks. Questions cover reporting verbs, pronoun changes, tense backshift, time and place expressions, punctuation, and the transformation of questions, commands and requests, including cases where backshift is not required.
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