Select the correct direct speech for the given sentence.
Mona said to Preeti, "I am going to Kolkata next week."

Correct option is B

Direct Speech- it means reporting the message of the speaker in the exact words as spoken by him.
Indirect Speech- It is speech which tells you what someone said, but does not use the person's actual word.
· Given sentence is a direct speech.
While changing direct speech into indirect speech following rules are to be followed:
· Pronoun Changes: The pronoun "I" changes to "she" in indirect speech to align with the subject Mona, as spoken from the perspective of an external narrator.
· Tense Shift: The present continuous "am going" changes to past continuous "was going" in indirect speech. This shift occurs because the reporting verb "said" is in the past tense, prompting a backshift in tenses for the reported speech.
· Time Expression Adjustments: "Next week" changes to "the following week" in indirect speech. This adjustment reflects the time lapse from the perspective of the current moment when the speech is reported, as opposed to when it was originally spoken.
These changes ensure the sentence remains logically and grammatically coherent when shifted from direct to indirect speech. The indirect speech conveys the same information but from an external perspective and with the appropriate adjustments for time, tense, and personal references.
Example:
· Direct: "She says, 'I am learning Spanish now.'"
· Indirect: "She said that she was learning Spanish then."