Point out the correct direct speech for the following:
I asked why he was looking through the keyhole.

Question

Point out the correct direct speech for the following: 
I asked why he was looking through the keyhole.

Accepted Answer

Explanation:

The given sentence is in indirect speech: "I asked why he was looking through the keyhole." We need to find the direct speech that correctly converts to this indirect form.

Let's analyze the components of the indirect speech:
*   **"I asked"**: This indicates that the direct speech was an interrogative sentence (a question).
*   **"why he was looking"**: This shows that the direct speech was a 'wh-question' (starting with 'why', 'what', 'where', etc.) and the tense was changed from present continuous to past continuous. Specifically, "he was looking" implies that in direct speech, it was "you are looking" (present continuous), which changes to past continuous when reported.

Now let's evaluate each option:

1.  **"Are you looking through the keyhole?" I said.**
    *   This is a yes/no question. If this were the direct speech, the indirect speech would be "I asked *if* he was looking through the keyhole" or "I asked *whether* he was looking through the keyhole." It does not match "I asked *why* he was looking." Therefore, this option is incorrect.

2.  **"Do not look through the keyhole," I said.**
    *   This is an imperative sentence (a command or instruction). If this were the direct speech, the indirect speech would be "I told him not to look through the keyhole" or "I forbade him from looking through the keyhole." This does not match "I asked why he was looking." Therefore, this option is incorrect.

3.  **"Why are you looking through the keyhole?" I said.**
    *   This is a direct 'wh-question' starting with "Why," which perfectly aligns with "why he was looking" in the indirect speech.
    *   The tense "are you looking" (present continuous) correctly changes to "he was looking" (past continuous) when converted to indirect speech, assuming 'you' refers to 'he'.
    *   "I said" is the reporting verb, which correctly becomes "I asked" in indirect speech when reporting a question.
    *   This option perfectly matches all the rules for converting direct speech to the given indirect speech. Therefore, this option is correct.

4.  **"You are looking through the keyhole," I said.**
    *   This is an assertive sentence (a statement), not a question. If this were the direct speech, the indirect speech would be "I said that he was looking through the keyhole." This does not match "I asked why he was looking." Therefore, this option is incorrect.

Based on the rules of direct and indirect speech, Option 3 is the only correct direct speech that converts to "I asked why he was looking through the keyhole."

The final answer is $\boxed{	ext{Option 3}}$