Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.
“Why have you come so early today?” The coach asked the athlete.

Correct option is B

The correct indirect speech is (b) The coach asked the athlete why he had come so early that day.
Direct Speech: When the exact words of the speaker are quoted using quotation marks, it is called direct speech.
Indirect Speech: When the speaker’s words are reported without quoting them exactly, it is called indirect speech.
Explanation:
· Wh-question “Why have you come…” changes to “why he had come…”
· Present perfect → Past perfect
· “today” changes to “that day”
· No auxiliary inversion in indirect speech (so not “why had he come”)
Grammatical rule used:
· Present perfect (have/has + V3) → Past perfect (had + V3)
· Time words change accordingly:
· today → that day
· tomorrow → the next day
· Example:
· Direct: She asked, “Why have you left early today?”
· Indirect: She asked why I had left early that day.