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Question

Difficulty: MediumDirect and Indirect (Reported) Speech

Read the direct speech sentence below:

"The chief auditor asked the manager, 'Have you submitted the quarterly compliance reports to the board today?'"

Which of the following options correctly renders this statement in indirect speech?

  1. The chief auditor asked the manager whether he had submitted the quarterly compliance reports to the board that day.Answer
  2. B
    The chief auditor asked the manager if he has submitted the quarterly compliance reports to the board that day.
  3. C
    The chief auditor asked the manager that whether he had submitted the quarterly compliance reports to the board that day.
  4. D
    The chief auditor asked the manager whether he had submitted the quarterly compliance reports to the board today.

Answer

The chief auditor asked the manager whether he had submitted the quarterly compliance reports to the board that day.
When converting a direct Yes/No question into reported speech with a past tense reporting verb ('asked'), the direct clause becomes a declarative statement introduced by 'whether' or 'if'. The auxiliary and verb shift from present perfect ('have submitted') to past perfect ('had submitted'), and the time expression 'today' shifts to 'that day'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the reporting verb and speech type
The reporting verb 'asked' is in the past tense, and the direct speech is a Yes/No question.
Past reporting verbs require tense backshift and adverbial adjustments in indirect speech.
2
Select the correct introductory conjunction and sentence order
Introduce the reported clause with 'whether' or 'if' and convert the question structure ('Have you submitted') into a declarative statement structure ('he had submitted').
Reported questions must use normal statement word order without auxiliary inversion.
3
Apply tense backshift and adverbial transformations
'have submitted' (present perfect) shifts to 'had submitted' (past perfect), and 'today' shifts to 'that day'.
Direct speech shifted relative to a past point in time requires backshifting past-oriented tenses and proximal time expressions.

Key Concept

Direct to Indirect Speech Transformation Rules for Questions
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Direct and Indirect (Reported) Speech

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