A sentence is provided in indirect speech. From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence in its corresponding direct speech.
He said that they had already left before he arrived.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct direct speech: He said, 'They had already left before I arrived.'
Key rules applied:
- 'said that' → said, '...' (remove 'that', add comma + quotation marks)
- 'they' stays as 'they' (no pronoun change needed since it's third-person reference not tied to speaker)
- 'he' (referring to speaker) → 'I' (since speaker is now speaking in first person)
- Past perfect 'had already left' stays as had already left (no backshift needed — direct speech doesn't shift tense; reported speech already reflects the original tense)
- 'before he arrived' → 'before I arrived' (same subject as speaker)