Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in indirect speech: I said to him, "Why are you working so hard?"

Correct answer: I asked him why he was working so hard.

Explanation: Context: In indirect speech, question format changes to statement form without question order. The tense also shifts back one step. 1. I asked him why he was working so hard. ✅ – correct indirect form. 2. I asked him why was he working so hard. ❌ – retains direct order. 3. I asked him why he had been working so hard. ❌ – tense changed unnecessarily. 4. I asked him why had he been working so hard. ❌ – wrong structure.