Choose the correct transformation of the given sentence in Indirect Speech:
The pharmacist said to Mr Dutta, “Have you brought your prescription from the doctor?”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The pharmacist asked Mr Dutta if he had brought his prescription from the doctor.
Changing a question into indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to Mr Dutta | asked Mr Dutta | The spoken words are a question, so “said to” becomes “asked”. |
| Joining word | “ ” (quotation marks) | if | “Have you brought ...?” is answered with yes or no, so “if” joins it. |
| Word order | Have you brought | he had brought | The question becomes a plain statement. The subject “he” now comes before the helping verb “had”, and the “?” is dropped. |
| Tense change | have brought | had brought | “Have brought” is in the present perfect. The present perfect is formed with has / have + past participle (V3). After the past “said” it becomes the past perfect “had brought”. The past perfect is formed with had + V3. |
| Pronoun change | you, your | he, his | Mr Dutta is spoken to, so “you” becomes “he” and “your” becomes “his”. A prescription is the doctor’s written note of the medicines a patient needs. |
| Full sentence | The pharmacist said to Mr Dutta, “Have you brought your prescription from the doctor?” | The pharmacist asked Mr Dutta if he had brought his prescription from the doctor. |
“Whether” can join a yes/no question in the same way. Example: Kabir said to me, “Have you seen my keys?” → Kabir asked me whether I had seen his keys.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: The pharmacist asked Mr Dutta if had he brought his prescription from the doctor. — Incorrect. “Had he brought” keeps the question word order. In indirect speech the subject comes first: “if he had brought”.
Option 2: The pharmacist asked Mr Dutta that if he had brought his prescription from the doctor. — Incorrect. “That if” puts two joining words together. A yes/no question takes “if” alone.
Option 3: The pharmacist asked Mr Dutta if he has brought his prescription from the doctor. — Incorrect. “Has brought” is left in the present perfect. After the past “said” it must become “had brought”.