Question

Change the given sentence into indirect speech:
She asked, 'What is it that makes you stronger and braver than other men?'
A) She asked him what was it that made him stronger and braver than other men.
B) She asked him what it was that made him stronger and braver than other men.
C) She asked him what was it that made you stronger and braver than other men.
D) She asked him what is it that made him stronger and braver than other men.

Answer 1

Hint: A linguistic technique for relaying the substance of another utterance without directly quoting it is indirect speech. Jill said she was coming is an example of indirect speech, whereas Jill said "I'm coming" is an example of direct conversation.

Complete answer:
The present tense of the statement will be put in the past tense when the given speech is turned into indirect speech. Personal pronouns will alter as well. 'You' will transform into 'him.'

Let us look at the given options:
A) She asked him what was it that made him stronger and braver than other men: This is the correct answer. Option A is correct because it converts the sentence to indirect speech correctly. As the past tense of 'is' is was, 'what is it' will be written as 'what was it.
B) She asked him what it was that made him stronger and braver than other men: This option is incorrect because it changes the meaning of 'what is it' to 'what it was.' It would have been correct if the question had been, 'What is it that makes you stronger...?'
C) She asked him what was it that made you stronger and braver than other men: This option is incorrect because it uses the word 'you' rather than 'he.' While changing from direct to indirect, ‘you’ should transform to ‘him’.
D) She asked him what is it that made him stronger and braver than other men: This option is incorrect because it does not convert the sentence's present tense to the past tense. Instead of 'what is it,' it should be 'what it was.'

Therefore the correct answer is option ‘A’.

Note: Rules of changing into indirect speech are:
- According to indirect speech conventions, each new character's utterance starts on a new line.
- Use speech marks to begin a sentence.
- Each speaking line begins with a capital letter.
- Use a comma, exclamation mark, or question mark to conclude a sentence.
- Finally, a clause requiring reporting is used.