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Question

Difficulty: MediumDirect and Indirect (Reported) Speech

The supervisor demanded of the security officer, "Will you hand over the key to the store before leaving today?" Which of the following options correctly renders this direct speech in indirect speech?

  1. The supervisor demanded of the security officer whether he would hand over the key to the store before leaving that day.Answer
  2. B
    The supervisor demanded of the security officer whether he will hand over the key to the store before leaving today.
  3. C
    The supervisor demanded of the security officer that if he would hand over the key to the store before leaving that day.
  4. D
    The supervisor demanded of the security officer if would he hand over the key to the store before leaving today.

Answer

The supervisor demanded of the security officer whether he would hand over the key to the store before leaving that day.
The sentence accurately transforms the direct question by introducing the reported clause with 'whether', changing the subject-verb order from question form to statement form ('he would'), backshifting the modal auxiliary 'will' to 'would', and shifting the temporal adverb 'today' to 'that day'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the reporting clause and speech type
The reporting verb 'demanded' is in the past tense, and the direct speech is a Yes/No question introduced by the auxiliary 'Will'.
Past-tense reporting verbs require tense backshift and corresponding adverbial adjustments.
2
Apply reported question conjunction and word order rules
Introduce the reported clause with 'whether' or 'if' (without 'that') and change the inverted question word order ('Will you hand') to standard statement order ('he would hand').
Direct questions become declarative statements when converted into reported speech.
3
Apply tense backshift and adverbial shift rules
Backshift the auxiliary verb 'will' to 'would', and change the time adverb 'today' to 'that day'.
When reported from a past context, present modals and relative time expressions must shift to match the past point of reference.

Key Concept

Reported Speech: Questions, Backshifting, and Adverbial Changes
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Topics

Direct and Indirect (Reported) Speech

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