Select the option that best expresses the indirect speech form of:
The supervisor said to the intern, "Have you completed the data analysis report?"
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. The supervisor asked the intern whether he had completed the data analysis report.
- Step 1: Convert a direct interrogative sentence in the present perfect ('Have you completed...?') to indirect speech.
- Step 2: The reporting verb 'said to' becomes 'asked' or 'inquired of'. The interrogative clause is introduced by 'if' or 'whether'. The present perfect ('have completed') shifts to the past perfect ('had completed'). The pronoun 'you' changes to 'he'. Thus: 'The supervisor asked the intern whether he had completed the data analysis report.'
Answer
The supervisor asked the intern whether he had completed the data analysis report.
Why not the others: 'Told... that he completed' loses the question structure and shifts to simple past; 'Asked... that if he has' uses improper double conjunction 'that if' and retains present tense; 'Inquired... had complete' has a grammatical verb agreement error.
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