Examveda

I said to him, "Why are you working so hard?"

A. I asked him why he was working so hard.

B. I asked him why was he working so hard.

C. I asked him why had he been working so hard.

D. I asked him why he had been working so hard.

Answer: Option A

Solution (By Examveda Team)

Original Sentence (Direct Speech):
I said to him, "Why are you working so hard?"

Step-by-step Conversion:
1. This is a WH-question (starting with "Why"), so we keep the question word ("why") in indirect speech.
2. “Said to” changes to “asked” because it’s a question.
3. In indirect speech, question word order becomes statement order. So, “are you working” becomes “he was working”.
4. The tense of the verb "are working" (present continuous) changes to past continuous → “was working”.
5. The phrase “so hard” remains the same.

Correct Sentence:
I asked him why he was working so hard.

Correct Answer: Option A

Why other options are incorrect:
Option B: “why was he working” — ❌ wrong word order. In indirect speech, we don’t use question format.
Option C: “why had he been working” — ❌ wrong tense. Present continuous should change to past continuous, not past perfect continuous.
Option D: Same as Option C — ❌ wrong tense transformation.

Final Answer: Option A – I asked him why he was working so hard.

This Question Belongs to Competitive English >> Direct And Indirect Speech

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Comments (6)

  1. Asif Iqbal
    Asif Iqbal:
    2 years ago

    Was /were +V1 +ing .....changes into had +been +V1+ing

  2. Sourav Mondal
    Sourav Mondal:
    4 years ago

    Wbpsc 2021

  3. Sonam Choki
    Sonam Choki:
    5 years ago

    What is the indirect form of i said to him, ''why don't you work hard? ''

  4. Sonam Choki
    Sonam Choki:
    5 years ago

    I said to him, ''why don't you work hard?''

  5. Namra Doshi
    Namra Doshi:
    5 years ago

    Answer is option (A)
    I ASKED BY WHY ARE YOU WORKING SO HARD.

    # NAMRA BOSS

  6. Abhishek Dhakad
    Abhishek Dhakad:
    6 years ago

    The boy said to her, "why do you work so hard ?"

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