English grammar error-spotting (reported speech and modal backshift): Read the sentence in parts (A–D) and identify which part contains the error; choose ‘‘No error’’ only if there is no error: ‘‘My friend asked me / if I can lend him my Parker pen / for a few days. / No error.’’

Given data

• A: ‘‘My friend asked me’’ (past reporting verb)
• B: ‘‘if I can lend him my Parker pen’’
• C: ‘‘for a few days.’’
• D: ‘‘No error.’’

Concept / ApproachIn indirect questions after a past reporting verb (‘‘asked’’), modals typically backshift: ‘‘can → could’’. This expresses future-in-the-past or polite remoteness.

Step-by-step evaluationPart B should read ‘‘if I could lend him my Parker pen …’’.Therefore, the error is ‘‘if I can lend him my Parker pen’’.

Correction‘‘My friend asked me if I could lend him my Parker pen for a few days.’’

Common pitfalls

• Leaving ‘‘can’’ unchanged after a past reporting verb in reported speech.
• Confusing direct vs. indirect question forms.

Final Answerif I can lend him my Parker pen