In the following question, a sentence has been given in Direct/Indirect speech. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one, which best express the same sentence in Indirect/Direct speech.
"Alas! I have broken my grandfather's watch" said Amit.
- AAmit was sorrowful that he broke his grandfather's watch.
- BAmit exclaimed sorrowfully that he has broken his grandfather's watch.
- CAmit was sorrowful that he had broken his grandfather's watch.
- DAmit exclaimed sorrowfully that he had broken his grandfather's watch.
Solution & Step-by-step Explanation
To convert the given direct speech into indirect speech, follow these rules:
The exclamatory word "Alas!" expresses grief or sorrow, so "said" changes to "exclaimed sorrowfully that".
The pronoun "I" (first person) changes according to the subject "Amit", which becomes "he".
The tense of the reported speech is Present Perfect ("have broken"), which changes into Past Perfect ("had broken") because the reporting verb is in the past tense ("said").
The possessive pronoun "my" changes to "his".
Combining these changes, we get: "Amit exclaimed sorrowfully that he had broken his grandfather's watch."
The exclamatory word "Alas!" expresses grief or sorrow, so "said" changes to "exclaimed sorrowfully that".
The pronoun "I" (first person) changes according to the subject "Amit", which becomes "he".
The tense of the reported speech is Present Perfect ("have broken"), which changes into Past Perfect ("had broken") because the reporting verb is in the past tense ("said").
The possessive pronoun "my" changes to "his".
Combining these changes, we get: "Amit exclaimed sorrowfully that he had broken his grandfather's watch."