Question

A sentence is provided in indirect speech. From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence in its corresponding direct speech. The assistant said that she was not feeling well and would leave early.

• A. "I am not feeling well and will leave early," the assistant said.
• B. "I was not feeling well and would leave early," said the assistant.
• C. "I'm not well and am leaving," she said.
• D. "I am not well and I leave now," said the assistant.

Answer 1

Answer:

A. "I am not feeling well and will leave early," the assistant said.

To convert a sentence from indirect (reported) speech back into direct speech, you must reverse the rules of backshifting (tense shifting) and pronoun alignment:

1. Pronoun Shift: In the reported sentence, the third-person pronoun "she" refers to the person speaking. When writing her exact words in direct speech, this must change to the first-person pronoun "I".

2. Tense Shift (Forward-shifting): Because the reporting verb is in the past tense ("said"), the verbs in the indirect speech were shifted backward. To find the original words, we must shift them forward to their original present/future state:

   • The past continuous "was not feeling" reverts to the present continuous "am not feeling".

   • The conditional modal "would leave" reverts to the future modal "will leave".

3. Information Integrity: The original indirect sentence explicitly mentions leaving "early." The correct direct quote must retain this specific detail.