Choose the option that is the most appropriate conversion of the following sentence into Direct Speech.
He said that by the time she arrived, the guests had already started leaving.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
When converting from reported speech to direct speech, the verb tenses should be adjusted to reflect the original time of utterance. The past perfect ('had already started') in the reported clause generally remains in the past perfect or changes to simple past ('started') depending on the context of the reporting verb, but the most direct equivalent that maintains the timeline is option C, where 'arrived' and 'started' align with the past actions described.