Choose the option that is the most appropriate conversion of the following sentence into Direct Speech.
She said that by the time the guests arrived, the decorations would already have been completed.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Correct Answer: She said, "By the time the guests arrive, the decorations will already have been completed."
Explanation:
• To convert an indirect statement back into direct speech, reverse the standard backshift of tenses.
• Main clause: The modal would changes back to will. Thus, "would already have been completed" becomes "will already have been completed" (Future Perfect Passive).
• Time clause: When referring to a future event introduced by time conjunctions like "by the time", the Simple Present tense is used instead of a future or past tense. Therefore, "arrived" changes back to arrive.