Question

20. He asked whether such a thing was possible. The direct form of the sentence is:
[A] He asked "is such a thing possible?"
[B] He asked "was such a thing possible?"
[C] He said "will such a thing be possible?"
[D] He said "whether such thing was possible?"
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Answer 1

Answer:

The direct form of the sentence is: [A] He asked: "Is such a thing possible?"

Explanation:

In case of direct speech, the statement is directly spoken by the speaker and hence should be in the present tense.

In the second option, the quotation is in the past tense and hence wrong, for the third option again tense is future and the last one does not make any sense as 'whether' is used in case of indirect speech.

Answer 2

Answer:

The option A is the right answer to this question. He asked “is such a thing possible?

It is entirely based on direct speech. In the first statement, the sentence is spoken by the speaker directly and therefore should be available in present tense.  When it comes to remaining sentences, there are available in past tense. Hence, the remaining options are completely wrong.