Choose the correct alternative which best expresses the same sentence in Direct speech.
The Principal asked me why I was late.

Correct option is D

The correct direct speech version is (D) “Why are you late?”

Explanation:

The indirect sentence “The Principal asked me why I was late” is a reported version of a present-time question. The verb “was” reflects a backshift from “are” due to the reporting verb being in the past tense. When converting back to direct speech, we reverse this shift:

"was" → "are",

"I" → "you",

and apply correct interrogative order: “Why are you late?”

Grammatical Rule Used:

In indirect speech, present tenses in direct speech are often changed to the past; when reverting, the tense shifts back. Also, subject and verb inversion is required in questions.

Explanation of rule in Hindi:

Direct से Indirect speech में परिवर्तन करते समय, यदि reporting verb past में हो (जैसे "asked"), तो main sentence का tense भी past में बदल जाता है। लेकिन जब वापस indirect से direct में जाएँ, तो original tense में लौट आते हैं।

Example:

Indirect: He asked why I was sad.

Direct: He said, “Why are you sad?”