He said to the hotel receptionist, "Can you tell me the tariff of rooms?
Correct answer: D. He asked the hotel receptionist if he could tell him the tariff of rooms.
- A. He asked the hotel receptionist that if he can tell him the tariff of rooms.
- B. He asked the hotel receptionist to tell him the tariff of rooms.
- C. He enquired the hotel receptionist if he can tell him the tariff of rooms.
- D. He asked the hotel receptionist if he could tell him the tariff of rooms.
Explanation
The yes-or-no question changes to an indirect question with “if,” and “can” changes to “could” after the past reporting verb “asked.” The natural construction is “asked ... if he could tell him.”
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About Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct speech gives a speaker’s exact words, whereas indirect speech reports the meaning without quotation marks. Questions cover reporting verbs, pronoun changes, tense backshift, time and place expressions, punctuation, and the transformation of questions, commands and requests, including cases where backshift is not required.
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