Which among the following most accurately conveys the sentence in its corresponding direct speech?
The teacher told the students that deadlines must be followed strictly.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. "Deadlines must be followed strictly," said the teacher.
Changes required:
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Conjunction: The conjunction "that" is removed, and inverted commas ("...") are used to enclose the exact words spoken.
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Verb: The reporting verb "told" is used in the indirect speech because it is followed by an object ("the staff"). In direct speech, it changes back to "said" (or "said to the staff").
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Tense: In the indirect sentence, the modal verb "must" is used, which does not change when converting from Direct to Indirect Speech and is therefore retained as "must" in the Direct Speech.
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Pronoun: The original sentence has no first or second-person pronouns in the reported clause.
Converted sentence: "Deadlines must be followed strictly," said the teacher.
Hence, the chosen option will be correct.