The correct answer is option A: "I asked him why he was looking through the key hole." Let's break down the explanation into bullet points for better clarity:
- The original sentence is in direct speech, where the speaker is directly quoting the words of the person being addressed.
- To convert the sentence into indirect speech, we need to report the statement rather than quoting it directly.
- In indirect speech, we usually use reporting verbs like "asked," "said," or "told" to introduce the reported speech.
- We also need to change the pronouns and verb tenses accordingly in indirect speech.
- Let's analyze the given options to understand why option A is the correct choice:
Option A: I asked him why he was looking through the key hole.
- This option correctly uses the reporting verb "asked" to introduce the reported speech.
- The pronouns "you" and "I" are changed to "him" and "I" respectively to match the indirect speech.
- The verb tense "are" is changed to "were" to match the past tense in the indirect speech.
- The reported speech "why he was looking through the key hole" is also correctly reported without any changes.
Option B: I said to him why he is looking through the key hole.
- This option uses the reporting verb "said" but does not follow the correct structure of indirect speech.
- The pronouns "you" and "I" are changed, but the verb tense remains in the present tense ("is"), which is incorrect.
- The reported speech "why he is looking through the key hole" should be changed to "why he was looking through the key hole" to match the past tense in indirect speech.
Option C: I said to him that why he was looking through the key hole.
- This option uses the reporting verb "said" but adds an unnecessary "that" before the reported speech.
- The pronouns "you" and "I" are changed, but the verb tense remains in the present tense ("was"), which is incorrect.
- The reported speech "why he was looking through the key hole" is correctly reported, but the unnecessary "that" should be removed.
Option D: I asked you why you are looking through the key hole.
- This option correctly changes the pronouns "you" and "I" to "him" and "I" respectively.
- However, the verb tense "are" remains in the present tense, which is incorrect for indirect speech.
- The reported speech "why you are looking through the key hole" should be changed to "why he was looking through the key hole" to match the past tense in indirect speech.
Therefore, option A is the correct choice as it accurately represents the given sentence in indirect speech with the appropriate pronoun changes and verb tense adjustments.