In this Direct and Indirect speech question, choose the indirect speech sentence that correctly reports 'Nisha said to Swati, "Will you help me in my project just now?"'.

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your command of converting Direct speech into Indirect (Reported) speech, especially with yes/no questions. The original sentence is a direct question from Nisha to Swati about immediate help with a project. To convert it correctly, you must change the reporting verb, adjust the pronouns and time expressions, and use the correct conjunction for a yes/no question.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- Direct speech: 'Nisha said to Swati, "Will you help me in my project just now?"'
- Reporter: Nisha; listener: Swati.
- The question is of the yes/no type, starting with 'Will you...', not a wh-question.
- Time reference 'just now' must be adjusted when reporting later.

Concept / Approach:
When changing yes/no questions from Direct to Indirect speech, we normally use 'asked' as the reporting verb and introduce the reported clause with 'if' or 'whether', not with 'that'. The auxiliary 'will' in the future tense usually becomes 'would' in reported speech when the reporting verb is in the past tense. Time expressions also change; 'now' and 'just now' often become 'then' or 'just then'. Pronouns must be shifted from the speaker's perspective to the reporter's perspective ('you' becoming 'she', 'me' becoming 'her').

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Change the reporting verb: 'said to' becomes 'asked' because Nisha is asking a question. Step 2: Introduce the reported clause with 'if' or 'whether' because this is a yes/no question, not a wh-question. Step 3: Change the pronouns: 'you' (Swati) becomes 'she' and 'me' (Nisha) becomes 'her' in reported speech. Step 4: Change the tense: 'will' becomes 'would' after a past reporting verb (asked). Step 5: Adjust the time expression: 'just now' becomes 'just then' in reported speech.

Verification / Alternative check:
Applying these transformations, we get: 'Nisha asked Swati if she would help her in her project just then.' Compare this with the given options. Option (b) is exactly 'Nisha asked Swati if she would help her in her project just then.', which matches all the necessary grammatical changes. The other options either use incorrect conjunctions, wrong tense, or incorrect preposition usage with 'asked'.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option (a) 'Nisha told Swati whether she will help her in her project just now.' is wrong because 'told' is not the correct reporting verb for a question, 'whether' is used incorrectly (sentence should still be in question form), and 'will' has not been changed to 'would'. Option (c) 'Nisha questioned to Swati that will you help me...' is wrong for several reasons: 'questioned to' is not an acceptable structure, and the reported clause is still in direct question form. Option (d) 'Nisha asked to Swati that will she help...' is wrong because 'asked to Swati' is ungrammatical, 'that' is not used to introduce yes/no questions, and the inner clause remains a direct question instead of a reported one.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates often forget to change the auxiliary verb 'will' to 'would' after a past reporting verb, or they leave the reported part in the original interrogative order. Another frequent error is misusing 'that' instead of 'if/whether' for reporting yes/no questions. To avoid these mistakes, always check four things: reporting verb (said vs asked), conjunction (if/whether), tense backshift (will to would) and time expression shifts (now to then).

Final Answer:
The correct indirect speech sentence is Nisha asked Swati if she would help her in her project just then.