In this question on reported speech in English grammar, select the option that best expresses the promise in indirect speech for the sentence: "I will make for you the best rice you have ever had," said the chef.

Introduction / Context:
This item tests your understanding of reported speech for promises and statements involving future time. The direct sentence contains a promise made by a chef about cooking rice. When converting such a sentence into indirect speech, you must know how to change future tense will into the appropriate form, how to adjust the present perfect you have ever had, and how to maintain pronoun reference. Questions like this appear regularly in competitive exams to check accuracy in sequence of tenses and style in English grammar.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Direct sentence: "I will make for you the best rice you have ever had," said the chef.
• The speaker is the chef, and the listener is an unnamed person, referred to as you.
• The reporting verb said is in the past tense.
• The sentence includes future tense will make and present perfect you have ever had.
• The sentence is a promise and a statement combined.

Concept / Approach:
In reported speech, when the reporting verb is in the past, we normally backshift tenses. Future will becomes would, and present perfect have had becomes past perfect had had or, in many exam patterns, had ever had. We also adjust the pronoun I into he and you into him, according to who is speaking and who is being spoken to. Because the chef is speaking about something he will do for the listener, the structure should be The chef told him that he would make for him the best rice he had ever had. Using told plus an object is preferred when the listener is mentioned, and using that to introduce the reported clause is grammatically standard though it can be omitted in conversation.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the reporting clause: said the chef. Step 2: Change said to told and supply the object him for the listener in indirect speech. Step 3: Change I into he and you into him, because the chef is the speaker and the listener is another person. Step 4: Backshift the tense: will make becomes would make, and have ever had becomes had ever had. Step 5: Combine everything into a smooth reported sentence: The chef told him that he would make for him the best rice he had ever had.

Verification / Alternative check:
The final sentence reads: The chef told him that he would make for him the best rice he had ever had. This preserves the meaning of the original promise and respects the rules of tense backshift and pronoun change. The use of would after a past reporting verb is correct, and had ever had correctly reports the present perfect you have ever had. The sentence also sounds natural and idiomatic in English, so it passes both grammatical and stylistic checks.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A is incorrect because it keeps will and has, which fails to backshift the tenses from the point of view of the past reporting verb said.
Option C is incorrect because the second clause still uses has ever had instead of had ever had, so the tense is not fully backshifted.
Option D is incorrect because it uses will after a past reporting verb and mixes will with had, creating an inconsistent tense sequence.
Option E is incorrect because it changes the content from best rice you have ever had to best rice he had ever cooked, which alters the original meaning of the statement.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners often forget to backshift future tense will to would when the reporting verb is in the past. Another frequent error is to leave present perfect unchanged, especially in phrases like have ever had. Students may also overlook proper pronoun adjustments, leaving I and you unchanged. Finally, changing the meaning of the original sentence by altering key phrases such as have ever had to have ever cooked is a serious mistake. Always check tense, pronouns, and meaning carefully before deciding on the correct option.

Final Answer:
The chef told him that he would make for him the best rice he had ever had.