MCQHard1 mark
2(iv)
Read each sentence with its instructions. Choose the correct answer from the options provided beneath each:
He said, "Will you listen to such a man?" (Begin: He asked...)
Topic: Direct and indirect speech
Previous-year question practice database
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Pick an option and check your answer. The full worked answer is below either way.
Answer
Exam answer
(c) He asked them whether they would listen to such a man..
Explanation
Converting a YES/NO QUESTION into indirect speech requires four changes, and option (c) makes all four:
- WHETHER (or "if") introduces the reported question, since there is no question word to use as a link.
- NO INVERSION — the reported clause takes statement order: "whether THEY WOULD listen", not "would they listen".
- TENSE backshift — "will" becomes "WOULD", because the reporting verb is past.
- PRONOUN shift — "you" becomes "they".
Options (a) and (d) turn the question into a COMMAND ("asked them to listen"), which is the form used for imperatives, not questions. Option (b) keeps the direct word order and the pronoun "you".
The rule: WH-questions keep their question word (when, where, why); yes/no questions take "whether" or "if".
In words
He asked them whether they would listen to such a man..
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