Choose the option in which the above sentence has been correctly changed into Indirect Speech.
Lalita said, “I can cook a quick meal.”

Correct option is B

The correct indirect speech is (b) Lalita claimed that she could cook a quick meal.
Detailed Explanation (English):
• The reporting verb is “said” which is in the past.
• When the reporting verb is in past, the modal can generally changes to could.
• Pronoun “I” changes according to the speaker (Lalita), so it becomes she.
• Quotation marks are removed, and the sentence becomes a statement with “that”.
• Hence, option (b) is grammatically correct and meaningful.
Grammatical Rule Used (English):
• If reporting verb is past (said/told), modal verbs usually change:
can → could
• Pronouns change according to the speaker/listener.
• Direct: “I can …” → Indirect: she could …
Grammatical Rule Used (Hindi):
• यदि reporting verb भूतकाल में हो, तो modal में परिवर्तन होता है:
can → could
• “I” का परिवर्तन speaker के अनुसार होता है (Lalita → she)।
• Direct speech के quotes हटाकर “that” के साथ reported clause लिखा जाता है।
Example:
Direct: He said, “I can swim.”
Indirect: He said that he could swim.
Why other options are incorrect:
• (a) “can” का backshift नहीं हुआ (tense rule break)
• (c) “I” का परिवर्तन नहीं हुआ (pronoun error)
• (d) “told” के बाद object चाहिए (told + whom), इसलिए “told that” गलत है