Correct the sentence at the underlined point.
The teacher asked me what is the matter.
a)What was the matter
b)What the matter is
c)What the matter was
d)No improvement

Hint: The above-given statement is in indirect speech. Whenever we convert a sentence from direct to indirect speech, we focus on the following points-
● The quotations marks are replaced with ‘that’.
● We change the tenses of the verbs. (Usually in the past tense)
● Make sure to use the appropriate pronouns.

Complete step-by-step answer:

Direct speech refers to the originally spoken words of a speaker in quotation marks, whereas Indirect speech involves the interpretation of the direct speech in the past, therefore there is a change in the tense of the verbs.
The statement given in the question has an interrogative sentence. Interrogative sentences are used to ask a question. And whenever we change an interrogative sentence into indirect speech, we follow certain rules:
1)We remove the quotation marks and use, ‘if’ or ‘whether’ to join the two parts of the sentence.
2)We replace the Question mark (?) with a full stop.
Now, let’s look at the given options:
a)What was the matter- We never use the helping verb before the object or the given predicate in an interrogative indirect sentence. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
b)What the matter is- The use of the present tense verb is inappropriate. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
c)What the matter was- The tense and composition of this sentence are appropriate. Hence, it is the correct option.
The correct answer is Option ‘c’.

Note: We use the reporting verb (asked) in most of the indirect interrogative sentences.