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A sentence is provided in direct speech. From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence in indirect speech. She said to him, "Can you explain this concept to me?"

1. She asked him if he can explain this concept to her.
2. She said if he could explain that concept to her.
3. She asked him whether he could explain that concept to her.
4. She told him could he explain this concept to her.

Correct answer: She asked him whether he could explain that concept to her.

Solution

The sentence is a yes/no question, so it changes to indirect speech using 'asked' and 'whether/if'. The verb 'can' changes to 'could', and 'this' changes to 'that' to match reported speech. Option C follows these rules correctly.

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