You said, "You have brought books for me".
Answer: B
Correct answer: You said that you had brought books for me
The present perfect have brought moves back to the past perfect after a past reporting verb. Me in the direct speech refers to the listener, so it stays me from the reporter's side.
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My younger sister says, "I do not tell a lie".
Answer: B
Correct answer: My younger sister says that she does not tell a lie
The reporting verb says is present, so there is no backshift - only the pronoun changes, from I to she. That change then forces do to agree as does.
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Nita ordered her servant to bring her cup of tea.
Answer: D
Correct answer: Nita said to her servant, “Bring me a cup of tea.”
Working backwards from indirect to direct: ordered… to bring her a cup of tea unpacks into an imperative addressed to the servant, and her in the report becomes me in Nita's own words. The option omitting the servant loses the person addressed, and the ones keeping her or that leave the report's pronouns in the direct speech.
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She said to me, "He mostly ignores me".
Answer: C
Correct answer: She said to me that he mostly ignored her
Me in the direct speech is the original speaker, so it becomes her. The present ignores then moves back to ignored. Keeping me would make the reporter the person ignored.
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They said, "They have returned the books".
Answer: D
Correct answer: They said that they had returned the books
The present perfect have returned becomes the past perfect had returned. Had return is not a verb form, and the plain past returned loses the completed-before-the-report sense.
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My father said to me, "You must work hard".
Answer: D
Correct answer: My father said to me that I had to work hard
You in the direct speech refers to the speaker of the report, so it becomes I. Must has no past form of its own, so after a past reporting verb it is replaced by had to. The options keeping you leave the sentence addressed to the wrong person.
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Ali asked them, "Are you playing with me"?
Answer: C
Correct answer: Ali asked them if they were playing with him
A yes-or-no question needs if or whether; without it the reported clause has no link. You becomes they, me becomes him, and are playing becomes were playing.
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"Did you come from France"?, said Sara to the boy.
Answer: A
Correct answer: Sara asked the boy if he had come from France
A yes-or-no question is reported with asked… if (or whether), and the past simple did you come moves back to the past perfect had come. Came would leave the tense unshifted, and come is not a finite form.
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She said to him, "Where are you living"?
Answer: B
Correct answer: She asked him where he was living
Said to becomes asked, the inverted question order is straightened out, and are living moves back to was living. Was lived is a passive and has no place here.
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My uncle said to me, "How is your studies going on now?".
Answer: C
Correct answer: My uncle asked me how my studies were going on then
Four changes: said to becomes asked; the question order is dropped, so the subject comes before the verb; your becomes my; and now becomes then while is becomes the past. Studies is plural, so the verb is were.
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