The correct answer is: D. Crene said to me that he didn’t know why they hadn’t signed the papers and accepted the gift.
The other options are incorrect because they do not use the correct verb tense. In the original sentence, Crene is speaking in the present tense, so the verb tense in the reported speech should also be in the present tense. Option A uses the past tense, “told,” which is incorrect. Option B uses the present tense, “tells,” which is also incorrect. Option C uses the first person pronoun “I,” which is incorrect because Crene is speaking in the third person.
Here is a breakdown of each option:
- Option A: Crene told me that he didn’t know why they hadn’t signed the papers and accepted the gift.
This option is incorrect because it uses the past tense, “told,” which is not consistent with the present tense of the original sentence.
- Option B: Crene told me that he don’t know why they haven’t signed the papers and accepted the gift.
This option is incorrect because it uses the incorrect verb tense, “don’t,” which is used in the present tense to indicate that the subject does not know something. In the original sentence, Crene is speaking in the present tense, so the verb tense in the reported speech should also be in the present tense.
- Option C: Crene told me that I don’t know why they haven’t signed the papers and accepted the gift.
This option is incorrect because it uses the first person pronoun “I,” which is incorrect because Crene is speaking in the third person.
- Option D: Crene said to me that he didn’t know why they hadn’t signed the papers and accepted the gift.
This option is the correct answer because it uses the correct verb tense, “said,” which is consistent with the present tense of the original sentence. It also uses the correct pronoun, “he,” which is consistent with the fact that Crene is speaking in the third person.