Question

Read the conversation given below and fill in the blanks in indirect speech:
Mrs. Tiwari (to her servant) Where were you yesterday?
Servant (male): My daughter was sick. I took her to a doctor.
Mrs. Tiwari: You people give innumerable excuses. Don’t do this next time.
Indirect speech:
Mrs. Tiwari__ _ _ _ _ _ _ her servant _ _ _ _ _ _ _ he had been the day before. The servant told her that _ _ _ _ _ _ daughter had been sick and he _ _ _ _ _ _ her to a doctor. Mrs. Tiwari accused him of giving innumerable excuses and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ him not to do that again.

Answer 1

Hint:Some of the rules to be kept in mind while changing the direct speech into indirect speech-
The quotations marks are replaced with ‘that’. We change the tenses of the verbs. (usually in the past tense). Make sure to use the appropriate pronouns.

Complete answer:
Direct speech refers to the original words of a speaker in quotation marks, whereas Indirect speech refers to the words spoken by the speaker in the past, therefore there is a change in the tense of verbs.
Example: Jessi said to Nellie, “I will bring this bag”
Indirect speech – Jessi said to Nellie that she would bring that bag.

So, the correct answer will be:

Mrs. Tiwari asked her servant where he had been the day before. The servant told her that his daughter had been sick and he had taken her to a doctor. Mrs. Tiwari accused him of giving innumerable excuses and told him not to do that again.

Note:We do not change the tense of verb, if the reporting verb is in the present tense or future tense (say, will say).