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NDA 1 2025 GAT, question 8

Topic: Direct and indirect speech

Directions · Q6 to Q8

The following items have a sentence in direct or indirect speech with four options. One of the options converts the direct or indirect speech into indirect or direct correctly. Select the correct option and mark your response on the Answer Sheet.

Q8

Convert from indirect speech to direct speech:

The teacher asked her students why they had been quiet in the previous class.

  1. (a) The teacher asked her students, “Why were they keeping quiet in the previous class?”
  2. (b) The teacher said to her students, “Why were you quiet in the previous class?”Correct answer
  3. (c) The teacher said to her students, “Why had you been quiet in the previous class?”
  4. (d) The teacher said to her students, “Why were you quiet in previous class?”

Solution.

Answer: (b) The teacher said to her students, “Why were you quiet in the previous class?”

  1. Reverse the normal reporting changes: indirect “they” becomes directly addressed “you”, and backshifted “had been” becomes “were”.
  2. A direct question needs question order, “Why were you ...?” Option (b) preserves the complete phrase “the previous class”.