In the following question, a sentence is given in Direct speech. Select the option that best expresses the same sentence in Indirect speech: The accused said to the judge, “Let me meet my children before I die, sir.”

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your understanding of reported speech, particularly how to convert an imperative or request in Direct speech into Indirect speech while maintaining correct tense and pronoun changes. The context is formal: an accused person addressing a judge with a respectful request. Examinations often include such examples to check control over tense backshifting and polite reporting verbs like “request”.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- Direct speech: “The accused said to the judge, ‘Let me meet my children before I die, sir.’” - Speaker: the accused. - Listener: the judge. - Original verb of saying: “said”. - The sentence expresses a polite request using “Let me …” with respectful address “sir”.

Concept / Approach:
When reporting an imperative that functions as a request, the reporting verb “said to” is usually changed to “requested” or “begged”, depending on the tone. The structure “Let me meet my children” becomes “to let him meet his children” in Indirect speech. Because the reporting verb “said” is in past tense, we backshift the tense in the subordinate clause where appropriate: “before I die” becomes “before he died”. Pronouns “me” and “my” change to “him” and “his” to match the third-person reference to the accused.

Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Change the reporting verb: “said to the judge” becomes “requested the judge” to show a polite request. 2. Convert the imperative “Let me meet my children” into an infinitive structure: “to let him meet his children.” 3. Adjust pronouns: “me” becomes “him,” and “my children” becomes “his children” because we now speak about the accused in the third person. 4. Backshift the tense in the time clause: “before I die” changes to “before he died” because the reporting verb is in the past. 5. Remove the direct address “sir” since Indirect speech does not usually retain such vocatives. 6. Combine everything: “The accused requested the judge to let him meet his children before he died.”

Verification / Alternative check:
Check each part of the transformed sentence against Direct speech rules. The polite tone is preserved by “requested,” the request content is accurately conveyed through “to let him meet his children,” and the time clause correctly reflects past time through backshift. There is no mismatch of pronouns or tense. This precise mapping confirms that the chosen option follows standard rules of reported speech in exam contexts.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- Option A: Uses present tense “requests” with a past reporting situation, and “before he died” creates a strange mix of present reporting with past content. - Option C: Uses “begs” in present tense and does not backshift the tense of “dies”, conflicting with the past reporting context. - Option D: Mixes past reporting verb “begged” with present tense “dies”, which violates the usual backshift rule.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to forget backshifting in time clauses when the reporting verb is in the past. Another error is to leave first-person pronouns unchanged, which can confuse the listener about who “I” refers to in indirect speech. Finally, students sometimes keep “said to” instead of changing it to a verb that better reflects the nature of the utterance, such as “requested” or “begged” for polite or urgent requests.

Final Answer:
The correct Indirect speech sentence is: The accused requested the judge to let him meet his children before he died.