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Question

Select the option that expresses the given sentence in direct voice.

The judge said that the defendant’s plea of not guilty had been a waste of the court’s time, as the evidence which had been presented by the prosecution had clearly proven that he was guilty.

The correct answer is

"The defendant’s plea of not guilty has been a waste of the court’s time, as the evidence which was presented by the prosecution has clearly proven that he is guilty," the judge said.

Converting the reported statement to direct speech reverses the backshift, moving the tenses one step forward towards the present.

The past perfect 'had been a waste' becomes the present perfect 'has been a waste', and 'had been presented' becomes the simple past 'was presented'.

'Had clearly proven' becomes 'has clearly proven', and 'he was guilty' becomes 'he is guilty' to reflect the original spoken words.

The direct speech is placed within quotation marks followed by the reporting clause 'the judge said'.

Only option B applies all these reversals consistently, so the correct direct form is "The defendant’s plea of not guilty has been a waste of the court’s time, as the evidence which was presented by the prosecution has clearly proven that he is guilty," the judge said.

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Similar Questions

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Important Questions from Direct and Indirect Speech

  1. Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.

    “How beautiful she is!” said Betty.

  2. Select the correct direct form of the given sentence.

    I told my parents not to worry about me.

  3. Direction: Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.

    He said to me, “Your father is waiting for you at the reception.”

  4. Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.

    He said to Manoj, “I celebrated my birthday two days ago.”

  5. Select the most appropriate indirect form of the given sentence.

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SSC CHSL 2026-27 Mock Test Series (Tier I & Tier II) (Latest Pattern)
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