Change the following sentence from Direct Speech into Indirect Speech.
The traveller said to me, “Which road leads to the nearest inn?”

Correct option is A

The correct indirect speech is (a) The traveller asked me which road led to the nearest inn.
Detailed Explanation (English):
• The given sentence is an interrogative sentence, so “said to” changes to “asked”.
• In indirect questions, we do not use question word order (no inversion).
Correct structure: wh-word + subject + verb.
• Since the reporting verb is in the past (“said”), the tense generally shifts back:
leads (Simple Present) → led (Simple Past).
• Quotation marks are removed in indirect speech.
Grammatical Rule Used (English):
• said to → asked (for questions)
• Indirect question order: wh-word + subject + verb (no inversion)
• Tense backshift when reporting verb is past: Present → Past
Grammatical Rule Used (Hindi):
• प्रश्नवाचक वाक्य में “said to” बदलकर asked होता है।
• Indirect question में inversion नहीं आता; क्रम होता है: wh-word + subject + verb।
• Reporting verb past में होने पर tense backshift होता है: leads → led।
Example:
Direct: He said, “Where does he live?”
Indirect: He asked where he lived.
Why other options are incorrect:
• (b) Tense backshift नहीं किया गया (leads बना रहा)
• (c) “that which” incorrect/unnatural structure
• (d) “is leading” tense गलत है और meaning बदलता है