[Grammar] REPORTED SPEECH

[chunganhvu]

Hi all,

Could you show me which one is the correct answer? Thanks in advance.

Miss White said to him, Why are you so late? Did your car have a flat tire?
A. Miss White asked him why he was so late and whether his car had a flat tire.
B. Miss White asked him why he was so late and whether his car had had a flat tire.

 

[Raymott]

The answer is B. That's a good example of where the past perfect is necessary for the right meaning.

(In future tell us what you think is right and why. We don't normally just give out answers.)

 

[emsr2d2]

In case you're interested, in BrE, the question would be "Did you car have a flat tyre?"

 

[chunganhvu]

Actually, the option A is the answer in a grammartical textbook and the option B is what I thought. By the way, thank you very much for your reply.

 

[MikeNewYork]

In answer A, there is no real connection between "late" and "flat tire". It reads as two independent questions. In B, the flat tire is connected as the reason for the lateness.

 

[Raymott]

My objection would be that, at the time of speaking, he might not have had a flat tyre. He got it fixed, and that's how he finally made it there. A. is the answer to " ... DO you have a flat tire?"

Miss White said to him, Why are you so late?[STRIKE] Did[/STRIKE] DOES your car have a flat tire?
A. Miss White asked him why he was so late and whether his car had a flat tire.