Select the option that expresses the given sentence in Direct to Indirect Speech.
They said, "How foolish of him to say that!"
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct indirect speech conversion for the given sentence is: "They exclaimed that it had been very foolish of him to say that."
To convert an exclamatory sentence starting with "How..." from direct to indirect speech, follow these rules:
Reporting Verb: Change the reporting verb "said" to "exclaimed" to reflect the emotion of the statement.
Conjunction: Use the conjunction "that" to connect the reporting clause with the reported speech.
Sentence Structure: Transform the exclamatory structure into an assertive sentence. Phrases like "How foolish" are typically replaced with "very foolish".
Tense Change: Since the reporting verb "said" is in the past tense, the reported speech must shift to the past. The implied present state ("It is foolish") shifts to the past perfect ("it had been") or simple past ("it was"), depending on the specific grammatical convention of the exam.
Contextual Accuracy: In many competitive exams (like the one shown), the most formal transformation for "How [adjective] of him..." into the past tense is "it had been very [adjective] of him."