Choose the correct indirect construction of the following sentence:
“Leave the key under the mat if you go out,” she said.
A. She told me if I am going out I should leave the key under the mat.
B. She told me to leave the key under the mat if I went out.
C. She said to leave the key under the mat as I will be going out
D. She said that if I went out I was to leave the key under the mat.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → B and D only
Reporting an order with an "if" clause:
- Reporting verb: an order (imperative) is reported with told / asked + object + to + base verb: "Leave the key" → "she told me to leave the key". An instruction can also be reported as said that ... was to + verb: "I was to leave the key" means I had been told to leave it.
- Tense change: in the "if" clause the present tense moves one step back, go out → went out.
- Pronoun changes: you → I, because the person spoken to is now the one reporting.
(A) She told me if I am going out I should leave the key under the mat. — Incorrect. The tense in the "if" clause is not moved back: "if I am going out" should be "if I went out".
Correct form: She told me if I went out I should leave the key under the mat.
(B) She told me to leave the key under the mat if I went out. — Correct. The order becomes "told me to leave", and "if you go out" becomes "if I went out".
(C) She said to leave the key under the mat as I will be going out — Incorrect. "As" turns the condition into a reason, which changes the meaning, and "will be going out" is not moved back to the past.
Correct form: She said to leave the key under the mat if I went out.
(D) She said that if I went out I was to leave the key under the mat. — Correct. The instruction is reported with "was to leave", and the "if" clause is changed to "if I went out".