Change the sentence "Ajay said to my sister, \"It is wonderful!\"" into indirect speech, and select the correct reported form.

Introduction / Context:
This question tests the rules for converting a direct exclamatory remark into indirect or reported speech. The original sentence shows Ajay speaking to my sister and saying It is wonderful. In reported form, we usually adjust the reporting verb, pronouns, and tense to reflect that the speech is being reported later.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- Direct speech: Ajay said to my sister, "It is wonderful!" - Reporting verb: said to. - Reported clause: It is wonderful. - The context is a past act of speaking, so past tense reporting is expected.

Concept / Approach:
When converting direct speech to indirect speech with a past reporting verb, we typically change said to into told, remove quotation marks, use that as a conjunction, and backshift the tense of the reported clause from simple present to simple past, unless the statement is a universal truth. Here, wonderful is part of a situational comment, so It is wonderful becomes It was wonderful in indirect speech. The preposition to after told is not used in standard English with a direct object noun.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Change said to into told and keep my sister as the indirect object: Ajay told my sister ... Step 2: Introduce the reported clause with that: Ajay told my sister that ... Step 3: Backshift the present tense is to past tense was because the reporting verb is in the past: it was wonderful. Step 4: Combine these parts to create: Ajay told my sister that it was wonderful. Step 5: Check that the sentence is grammatically correct and that it faithfully reports the original exclamation. Step 6: Match this result with the given options and identify it as option C.

Verification / Alternative check:
Compare the meaning of the direct and indirect forms. The direct sentence shows Ajay making a positive exclamation at a particular time. The reported version Ajay told my sister that it was wonderful preserves that meaning while showing that someone is narrating the event later. Using tells in the present tense would wrongly place the act of reporting in the present, and using is instead of was would fail to show the normal tense shift that exams usually expect.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, Ajay tells my sister that it is wonderful, uses the present tense tells, which does not match the past time frame implied by said. Option B, Ajay tells to my sister that it was wonderful, is doubly incorrect because tells is present and tells to my sister is not idiomatic; told my sister is the standard form. Option D, Ajay told to my sister that it is being wonderful, includes the incorrect preposition to and the unnatural progressive form is being wonderful.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often forget that told does not take the preposition to before an indirect object. They also sometimes neglect the standard backshift of is to was after a past reporting verb. To avoid these errors, remember the basic frame Ajay told my sister that plus reported clause, and then ensure that the clause itself is shifted one step back in tense when appropriate.

Final Answer:
Ajay told my sister that it was wonderful. is the correct indirect speech form of the given sentence.