Change of speech: choose the correct indirect version of "What time does the flight arrive?" she asked the receptionist

Introduction / Context:
This question checks your understanding of converting direct speech to indirect (reported) speech, especially for interrogative sentences in the present simple tense. It focuses on the correct use of reporting verbs, sequence of tenses, and word order when the original sentence is a question beginning with a wh question word such as "what" or "when".

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Direct sentence: "What time does the flight arrive?" she asked the receptionist.
• Reporting verb: "asked".
• The question is about time and begins with the wh word "what".
• The tense inside the question is present simple: "does the flight arrive".
• We need a grammatically correct reported question in indirect speech.

Concept / Approach:
When reporting a wh question in indirect speech, we keep the wh word, change the word order to that of a statement, and usually shift the tense back one step when the reporting verb is in the past. The auxiliary "do / does" in present simple questions is dropped in indirect speech, and the main verb returns to its past simple form. Therefore "does the flight arrive" normally becomes "the flight arrived" when reported.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the reporting clause: "she asked the receptionist". The verb "asked" is in the past tense. Step 2: Retain the wh word "what", which introduces the reported question. Step 3: Change the structure "does the flight arrive" to the statement word order "the flight arrives" and then apply backshift of tense due to the past reporting verb. Step 4: Apply sequence of tenses: present simple "arrives" usually changes to past simple "arrived" in reported speech. Step 5: Remove the auxiliary "does", since it is used only for question formation and is not needed in reported speech. Step 6: Combine all parts: "She asked the receptionist what time the flight arrived."

Verification / Alternative check:
The final sentence is grammatically correct and follows all rules of reported speech. It keeps the wh word "what", uses the correct subject verb order "the flight arrived" instead of question order, and shifts the tense from present simple to past simple. The meaning remains the same: she wanted to know the time of arrival of the flight.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B: "what time the flight arrive" is incorrect because "arrive" is in the base form and should be in past simple "arrived". Option C: "when does the flight arrive" wrongly keeps the auxiliary "does" and question order; in indirect speech we do not use such direct question structure after the reporting verb. Option D: "what was going to be the time for the flights arrival" is overly wordy, changes the tense and structure, and uses an unnatural expression for a simple time enquiry.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often forget to change the word order from question pattern to normal statement order in reported questions. Another common issue is forgetting to remove auxiliary verbs like "do" or "does", which are only needed in direct questions. Also, many candidates either forget to shift the tense when necessary or change it when it is not required. In this case, shifting "arrive" to "arrived" is appropriate because the reporting verb is in the past.

Final Answer:
The correct indirect speech form is "She asked the receptionist what time the flight arrived.", which corresponds to option A.