The following items have a sentence in direct or indirect speech, followed by four options. One of the options correctly converts the direct speech into indirect speech. Select the most appropriate option and mark your answer on the Answer Sheet. Convert from direct speech into indirect speech. "Alas! We lost the match by one point," said the Captain
A. The Captain regretted that they had lost the match by one point
The given sentence is an exclamatory sentence in direct speech. The interjection 'Alas!' indicates sorrow or regret. Therefore, the reporting verb 'said' combined with the interjection changes to 'regretted' or 'exclaimed with sorrow'. The conjunction 'that' is used to connect the reporting clause and the reported speech. The first-person plural pronoun 'We' changes to the third-person plural pronoun 'they' according to the speaker. The reported speech is in the simple past tense, which changes to the past perfect tense in indirect speech. Thus, 'lost' becomes 'had lost'. Applying these grammatical rules, the correct indirect speech is: The Captain regretted that they had lost the match by one point.
Related: General Ability — English · All PYQ Banks