In this reported speech improvement question, choose the best replacement for the underlined part in the sentence: The Professor asked the intruder who was he and why was he in his lecture.

Introduction / Context:
This question tests knowledge of reported speech and word order in indirect questions. In English, the structure of a question changes when it is reported as part of another sentence. Direct questions use inversion, but indirect questions require normal subject verb order. The original sentence The Professor asked the intruder who was he and why was he in his lecture contains the inverted order suitable for direct questions, not for an embedded indirect question, so it needs improvement.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Base sentence: The Professor asked the intruder who was he and why was he in his lecture.
• The reporting verb is asked, and what follows is an indirect question with two clauses.
• We must select the option that uses correct word order for indirect questions.
• Four options are available, including a No improvement choice.

Concept / Approach:
In direct speech, we say, Who are you and why are you in my lecture, where the auxiliary verb comes before the subject. When this question is reported indirectly after a verb like asked, the word order changes to subject plus verb, similar to a statement. Therefore, the Professor asked who he was, not who was he. The same rule applies to the second clause: why he was in his lecture is correct, not why was he in his lecture. Additionally, the tense usually remains the same here, because the question is about identity and purpose at that moment, but the main focus of this item is word order in indirect questions.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognise that the sentence is in reported speech with the reporting verb asked. Step 2: Recall that in indirect questions, the subject normally comes before the auxiliary verb, as in who he was, not who was he. Step 3: Apply this rule to both clauses: who he was and why he was in his lecture. Step 4: Compare this corrected structure with the options provided. Step 5: See that option A exactly matches the correct indirect word order for both clauses. Step 6: Conclude that option A is the best improvement for the sentence.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can verify by transforming a simple direct statement into indirect form. Direct: The Professor said to him, Who are you and why are you here. Indirect: The Professor asked him who he was and why he was there. This shows the pattern: question word plus subject plus verb. We never say The Professor asked him who was he in indirect speech. This pattern is consistent across many examples: She asked where he lived, He wondered what the time was. The given corrected version who he was and why he was in his lecture follows this pattern perfectly, confirming its correctness.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
who he was and why was he in his lecture: The second clause still keeps the inverted question order why was he, which is wrong in indirect speech.
who he had been and why he had been in his lecture: The use of past perfect had been is unnecessary and unnatural here, because the question refers to identity and presence at that moment, not to an earlier completed action.
No improvement: The original sentence uses incorrect word order in both clauses for reported speech, so it cannot be accepted as correct in a standard exam context.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to keep the same inversion as in direct questions, especially after verbs like ask, wonder, or want to know. Learners also sometimes overcomplicate tenses by using past perfect forms where simple past is enough. Another pitfall is to correct only one clause and forget that the rule applies equally to all parts of a compound indirect question. To avoid such errors, remember the simple principle: in indirect questions, the sentence looks like a statement, not like a direct question, even though it still answers a question word like who, what, or why.

Final Answer:
The correct improvement is who he was and why he was in his lecture after the reporting clause The Professor asked the intruder.