Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect voice.
The company CEO announced, 'We will not be able to meet the deadline for this quarter, which is a great disappointment for all of us, but we will have to work harder next time.'
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The company CEO announced that they would not be able to meet the deadline for that quarter, which was a great disappointment for all of them, but that they would have to work harder the next time.
The correct option is D because when converting direct speech to indirect speech, several grammatical changes are necessary:
The reporting verb 'announced' is in the past tense, so the tenses within the reported clause must shift to the past (e.g., 'will not be able' becomes 'would not be able', and 'is' becomes 'was').
Pronouns must change to reflect the speaker's perspective (e.g., 'We' becomes 'they', and 'us' becomes 'them').
Time and place references must be adjusted (e.g., 'this quarter' becomes 'that quarter', and 'next time' becomes 'the next time').