Converting direct speech into reported speech involves transforming the original words of a speaker into a different grammatical structure, often requiring changes to tense, pronouns, and sometimes time and place references. The original sentence is a question asked by the new employee.

The original sentence: The new employee asked the manager, "When do I have to report for work?"

This is an interrogative sentence (a question) that starts with a 'wh' word ("When"). To convert such a question into reported speech, we follow specific rules:

• The reporting verb (in this case, "asked") is typically kept or a similar verb like "enquired" is used.
• The question mark and quotation marks are removed.
• The 'wh' word ("When") is used to connect the reporting clause and the reported clause. We do not use conjunctions like "that".
• The sentence structure of the reported clause changes from interrogative (verb before subject) to affirmative (subject before verb).
• The tense of the verb in the reported clause usually shifts backward according to standard rules.
• Pronouns are changed to reflect the perspective of the reporter.

Let's apply these rules to the original sentence:

• The reporting clause is "The new employee asked the manager". This part remains largely the same.
• The reported clause is "When do I have to report for work?".
• The 'wh' word is "When".
• The subject in the reported clause is "I", which refers to the new employee. In reported speech, this pronoun changes to "he" (or "she" or "they" depending on the employee's gender, but "he" is used in the correct option).
• The verb phrase is "do I have to report". "Have to report" indicates obligation in the present tense. When shifting to the past tense in reported speech, "have to" becomes "had to". The 'do' is removed as the structure becomes affirmative.

So, "When do I have to report for work?" becomes "when he had to report for work" in the reported clause, and the overall reported speech sentence starts with "The new employee asked the manager".

Now, let's examine the given options:

• Option 1: The new manager asked the employee when he would report for work.
  • Incorrect: The subject of the reporting verb is changed from "The new employee" to "The new manager".
  • Incorrect: The tense shift from "do I have to report" is not typically "would report". "Had to report" is the standard past equivalent of "have to report".
• Option 2: The manager told the new employee when to report for work.
  • Incorrect: The reporting verb is changed from "asked" to "told", altering the meaning from a question to instruction.
  • Incorrect: The structure "when to report" is an infinitive phrase construction, which is not the direct and standard reported form of "When do I have to report?".
• Option 3: The new employee asked the manager when he had to report for work.
  • Correct: The reporting clause "The new employee asked the manager" is correct.
  • Correct: The conjunction "when" is used correctly.
  • Correct: The pronoun "I" is changed to "he".
  • Correct: The tense "do I have to report" is correctly shifted to "he had to report" (past tense of "have to").
  • Correct: The reported clause has an affirmative structure (subject 'he' followed by verb 'had to report').
• Option 4: The new employee told the manager that when he had to report for work.
  • Incorrect: The reporting verb is changed from "asked" to "told".
  • Incorrect: The conjunction "that" is incorrectly used before the 'wh' word "when" in reported questions.

Therefore, Option 3 correctly expresses the given sentence in reported speech, adhering to the rules for reporting 'wh' questions, including pronoun and tense changes.

Revision Table: Direct vs. Reported Speech Questions

Additional Information on Reported Speech Conversion

Mastering reported speech requires attention to several details beyond just tense changes. Here are some key points:

• Reporting Verbs: Choose reporting verbs carefully to reflect the original intention (e.g., 'asked' for questions, 'told' for statements, 'ordered' for commands, 'exclaimed' for exclamations).
• Statements: Reported statements are usually introduced by 'that' (though it's often optional), and the tense is backshifted. (e.g., "He said, 'I am tired.'" > "He said (that) he was tired.")
• Yes/No Questions: Questions without 'wh' words are reported using 'if' or 'whether' as the connector. (e.g., "She asked, 'Are you ready?'" > "She asked if I was ready.")
• Commands and Requests: These are often reported using 'to' or 'not to' + infinitive. (e.g., "He told me, 'Go away!'" > "He told me to go away.").
• Modal Verbs: Can becomes could, May becomes might, Must/have to becomes had to, Will becomes would. Could, might, would, should, ought to typically do not change.
• Changes in Time and Place: Adverbs and expressions of time and place often change to reflect the shift in perspective (e.g., today > that day, here > there, this > that, now > then).

By understanding these various aspects of reported speech, one can accurately convert different types of sentences from direct to indirect form.