Question

Convert the following to indirect speech:
Sam: Do you have to pay to park here?
 a. Sam asked that do you have to pay to park here.
b. Sam asked if I had to pay to park there.
c. Sam asked if do I have to pay to park there.
d. Sam asked if I have to pay to park there.

Answer 1

Hint: The student should read the given sentences carefully and pay heed to the structure. Note the tense, person, and placement of words in the sentence and then follow the rules of narration to convert it into indirect speech.

Complete answer:
Indirect speech is (grammar) a form of speech used to express what another has said; often involves a change in tense.
If we were to change "Fred says "I will do the housework"." into the reported speech it would become "Fred said that he would do the housework."
Let us thus analyze the options given to us in this question -
Option (a.), 'Sam asked that do you have to pay to park here', is incorrect as we do not use ‘that’ for sentences which phrased questions, we use ‘whether’ or ‘if’.
Option (b.), ‘Sam asked if I had to pay to park there', is correct as it uses the right conjunction ‘if’ for a question statement and also changes the tense of ‘have’ to had, as in indirect speech tense of simple past change to simple present.
Option (c.), ‘Sam asked if do I have to pay to park there', is incorrect as the structure of the statement is wrong. After the conjugation, the noun should be present.
Option (d.), ‘Sam asked if I have to pay to park there', is incorrect as it does not change the tense of ‘have’ to had, as in indirect speech tense of simple past change to simple present.

Note:
In this question, it will be helpful for the student to recall the concept of direct speech. Direct speech is (grammar) the writing of speech, using the exact words of the speaker, usually between quotation marks.