In the following question, a sentence is given in direct speech. Select the option that best expresses the same sentence in indirect (reported) speech. She said, "I will be making the dinner now, so tell me what you wish to eat?"

Introduction / Context:
This sentence combines a future continuous plan with an instruction requesting information. The speaker declares that she is about to start cooking and wants to know what others want to eat. In reported speech, we must backshift the future continuous form, change the time word "now", and report the request part in a natural way while preserving the meaning.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Reporting verb: "said" in simple past.
• Direct speech: "I will be making the dinner now, so tell me what you wish to eat?"
• Pronoun "I" refers to "she" in reported form.
• Verb phrase "will be making" is future continuous.
• Time word "now" refers to the moment of speaking in the original context.
• Second part is an imperative plus an indirect wh question: "tell me what you wish to eat".

Concept / Approach:
With a past reporting verb, "will be making" changes to "would be making". The time word "now" becomes "then". The request part is often reported using "so we should tell her what we wished to eat" in exam style, which reflects both suggestion and expectation. The pronoun "you" inside "what you wish to eat" becomes "we" when the narrator is part of the group addressed by the original speaker. The verb "wish" is usually backshifted to "wished".

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Begin the reported sentence with "She said that". Step 2: Change "I will be making the dinner now" to "she would be making the dinner then". "Will be making" becomes "would be making", and "now" becomes "then". Step 3: Introduce the second part using "so we should tell her". This indicates what the listeners were expected to do. Step 4: Change "what you wish to eat" to "what we wished to eat". "You" becomes "we" from the group point of view, and "wish" changes to "wished". Step 5: The resulting sentence is "She said that she would be making the dinner then so we should tell her what we wished to eat."

Verification / Alternative check:
The reported sentence maintains the idea that she planned to cook at that time and wanted menu choices from the listeners. The continuous aspect is preserved through "would be making". The adverb "then" accurately reflects the time of cooking relative to the reporting moment. The second clause clearly shows that the listeners were expected to tell her their preferences, with the wh clause "what we wished to eat" correctly retaining the original question meaning in reported form.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A uses "that we wished to eat", which does not include the word "what" and therefore loses the wh question sense. Option C keeps "now" instead of changing it to "then", which ignores the shift in time reference. Option D repeats the same problem and again omits "what", which makes the second part incomplete or unnatural in meaning.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners may have difficulty combining reported statements with reported requests or questions in one sentence. They may also forget to handle "now" and other time markers. Another common issue is dropping the wh word like "what", "where", or "when" in the second clause, which changes the structure and meaning. A good method is to treat the sentence as two linked parts: first convert the statement, then convert the request or question, and finally join them logically using connectors like "so".

Final Answer:
The correct reported sentence is She said that she would be making the dinner then so we should tell her what we wished to eat.