He was asked how serious the situation had become.

[Heidi L]

Could you please tell me what the difference in meaning is between the following two sentences?

1. He was asked how serious the situation had become.

2. He was asked how the situation had become serious.

 

[teechar]

1- He was asked to state what extent/degree of seriousness the situation had reached.
... and he responded: "Very, very serious".
2- He was asked to state what had caused the situation to become serious.
... and he responded: "Years of poor management and staff negligence".