Question

Change the following statement into indirect speech:
She said, “May you live long”.
a. She said for a long life for him.
b. She told for a long life for him.
c. She prayed for a long life for him.
d. She proposed for a long life for him.

Answer 1

Hint:
 To change into indirect speech, we have to write the sentence in the past tense because of the usage of “said”. Choose the sentence which is grammatically correct.

Complete answer:
The verb in the direct speech changes into the past tense in indirect speech. Universal truths don’t change their tense.
(a) She said for a long life for him.- This sentence is grammatically incorrect because “said for a long life” is wrong. We cannot use “said” and “for” simultaneously.
(b) She told for a long life for him.- When we use “told”, we have to add an audience. She told whom? Also, “told” and “for” cannot be used simultaneously as well. It is grammatically wrong.
(c) She prayed for a long life for him.- We pray for something. Ramesh prayed for good health. The wife prayed for her son’s safe return. Similarly, in the given sentence, she prayed for a long life for him. The sentence is also in the past tense since it is indirect speech. This is the correct answer.
(d) She proposed for a long life for him.- The usage of “proposed” is wrong because propose means to put forward an idea or in some cases, to ask. In this case, she has wished for someone’s good health so “prayed” is a better option.
The correct answer is option C.

Note:
 For direct speeches that use a present or future tense, we don’t change the tense of the sentence while converting it into indirect speech.