In this English grammar question on direct and indirect speech, select the option that correctly reports the statement: Zenab said to me, "My father is a dentist."

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your understanding of reported speech for a simple factual statement about someone’s profession. The direct sentence is spoken by Zenab and tells us that her father is a dentist. When it is converted into indirect speech, we must manage the reporting verb, pronouns, and the verb that describes the profession. This pattern often appears in grammar exams to check whether students can apply the sequence of tenses rule in a natural way.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Direct sentence: Zenab said to me, "My father is a dentist."
• Reporting verb: said to, with the object me.
• The speaker is Zenab, and the listener is me.
• The main verb in the reported clause is is, describing a profession.
• We assume that the sentence is reported from a past point of view.

Concept / Approach:
In many exam contexts, when the reporting verb is in the past tense, the present tense in the reported clause is backshifted to past tense. So is becomes was. The phrase my father becomes her father when reported by another speaker. The reporting verb said to me is normally changed to told me to sound more natural in indirect speech. While in real life we might keep is if the profession is still true, most exam keys prefer the formal backshift, which you must follow to get full marks.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Change said to me into told me in the reporting clause. Step 2: Begin the reported clause with that to form a complete indirect sentence. Step 3: Replace my father with her father because the speaker is now referred to in the third person. Step 4: Change the present tense verb is to the past tense was to follow the sequence of tenses rule. Step 5: Confirm that the phrase a dentist remains unchanged as it correctly states the profession.

Verification / Alternative check:
The final sentence is: Zenab told me that her father was a dentist. This sentence uses the correct reporting verb, correct pronouns, and the expected past tense was. It does not change the meaning of the original statement. For exam purposes, this is the most standard transformation for this kind of factual sentence about someone’s occupation.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B keeps is instead of changing it to was, which is less acceptable in exam patterns that enforce tense backshift strictly.
Option C is incorrect because it uses says to me instead of said to me, changing the time reference of the report and not matching the original sentence.
Option D is incorrect because that that her father was a dentist is awkward and repeats that unnecessarily.
Option E is incorrect because had been suggests a completed state in the past and implies that he is no longer a dentist, which changes the meaning of the original statement.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes overlook pronoun changes and keep my father in the reported version. Another frequent error is deciding whether to backshift the tense when the statement is still true. While real usage can be flexible, exam questions often follow rigid rules. Learners may also be tempted to change is to has been or had been, which can distort the meaning. Always check what the exam expects: in most such questions, simple present becomes simple past in indirect speech when the reporting verb is in the past.

Final Answer:
Zenab told me that her father was a dentist.