In the following question on direct and indirect speech, convert the sentence “Juhi said to her friend, \\"I can choose to live the way I want to.\\"” into correct indirect speech by choosing the best option.

Introduction / Context:
This question checks your understanding of how to report a statement about personal choice and lifestyle. The direct speech sentence has Juhi asserting that she can choose to live in a particular way. When changing this to indirect speech, you must adjust the modal verb “can,” the pronoun “I,” and the tense of “want” to match the rules of reported speech after a past reporting verb. The goal is to preserve meaning while applying correct backshifting.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Direct speech: “Juhi said to her friend, ‘I can choose to live the way I want to.’”
• The reporting verb “said to” should become “told” when followed by the object “her friend.”
• The modal verb “can” usually changes to “could” in reported speech after a past reporting verb.
• The subject “I” in the reported clause refers to Juhi herself, so it becomes “she.”
• The simple present “want” generally backshifts to “wanted” when reporting from a later time.

Concept / Approach:
The main grammatical principles are: change of person (I to she), backshifting of modal verbs (can to could), and backshifting of present tense verbs (want to wanted) after a past reporting verb like “said.” Additionally, “said to her friend” is more naturally reported as “told her friend that …” The best option will incorporate all of these adjustments while keeping the sentence clear and natural.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Change “said to her friend” into “told her friend,” which is standard in reported speech. Step 2: Replace the first person pronoun “I” with “she,” since Juhi is speaking about herself. Step 3: Backshift the modal “can” to “could,” giving “she could choose.” Step 4: Backshift the verb “want” to “wanted,” giving “the way she wanted to.” Step 5: Combine these changes into “Juhi told her friend that she could choose to live the way she wanted to.” Step 6: Compare this result with the options and identify that option D matches perfectly.

Verification / Alternative check:
Check the other options for errors. Option A keeps “can” and “want,” failing to backshift both the modal and the main verb. Option B uses an awkward continuous form “could be choosing” and retains “wants,” which is not properly backshifted. Option C mixes present “chooses” with past “wanted,” creating tense inconsistency. Only option D uses “could choose” and “wanted,” which aligns with the rules. This confirms that option D is the only fully correct indirect version.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A does not backshift “can” to “could” and uses “want” instead of “wanted,” making it grammatically incomplete as reported speech. Option B not only misuses aspect with “could be choosing” but also leaves “wants” in the present, causing a tense mismatch. Option C uses “chooses” in the present and “wanted” in the past, which is inconsistent and does not reflect standard reporting rules.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to overlook modal verbs during backshifting, leaving “can” unchanged after a past reporting verb. Another pitfall is to apply backshifting only partially, changing one verb but not the others in the same clause. To avoid errors, always check each verb in the reported clause and ask whether it needs to move one step back in time. Practising with similar sentences helps reinforce a consistent approach to reported speech transformations.

Final Answer:
The correct indirect speech form is “Juhi told her friend that she could choose to live the way she wanted to.”