WBCS.LIVE practice question

Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in indirect speech: The peon said to his officer, "Please forgive me."

Solve this multiple-choice question and check the correct answer with its explanation below.

Answer options

  1. The peon requested his officier that he forgive him.
  2. The peon requested his officer to forgive him.
  3. The peon said to his officier that he should forgive him.
  4. The peon told his officer to please forgive him.

Correct answer and explanation

Correct answer: The peon requested his officer to forgive him.

Explanation: Context: When reporting a polite request, the reporting verb ‘said to’ changes to ‘requested’. The infinitive form (‘to + verb’) is used. 1. The peon requested his officer that he forgive him. ❌ – incorrect conjunction. 2. The peon requested his officer to forgive him. ✅ – correct indirect form. 3. The peon said to his officer that he should forgive him. ❌ – wrong structure. 4. The peon told his officer to please forgive him. ❌ – informal; grammatically weak.