Choose the correct direct speech of the given reported speech: He said I'd…
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Choose the correct direct speech of the given reported speech:
He said I'd better go because it was late.
- A.
He said, "You'd better go because it's late."
- B.
He said, "You'd better be gone because it was late."
- C.
He said, "I'd better go because it was late."
- D.
He said, "You'd better go because it was late."
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Correct answer: A
Solution
Direct speech: He said, "You'd better go because it's late."
Why this is correct:
Pronoun change: In the reported sentence the reporter uses "I" to refer to themselves, which means the original speaker used "you." Therefore "I'd better" becomes "You'd better."
Tense restoration: When restoring direct speech, time references often revert to the form used in the original utterance. "Was late" in the report becomes "it's late" in the direct quotation.
Punctuation and capitalization: Place a comma before the quotation and capitalize the first word inside the quotes.
Additional note: "Had better" (contracted here as "'d better") expresses strong advice or a warning, so the sentence conveys urgent advice: "You'd better go because it's late."