English Grammar - Narration

English Grammar
English Grammar - Narration

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 judge said that justice must be served at any cost.


Options:

  1. "Justice should be served at any cost," said the judge.
  2. "Justice must be served at any cost," the judge said.
  3. "We serve justice at any cost," said the judge.
  4. "One must serve justice," the judge said.

Right Answer: "Justice must be served at any cost," the judge said.

The modal verb 'must' when used to express obligation, necessity, or a strong rule generally remains unchanged when converting indirect speech back into direct speech, unlike 'can' or 'may' which typically shift. The indirect sentence uses 'must be served', so the direct speech version should also retain 'must be served at any cost' exactly, enclosed in quotation marks. Option 1 incorrectly changes 'must' to 'should', altering the degree of obligation. Options 3 and 4 completely change the sentence structure and wording, deviating from the original meaning and phrasing. Only option 2 preserves the exact wording 'Justice must be served at any cost' within quotation marks. Therefore, the correct answer is option 2.

This question is part of English Grammar - Narration, which has 48 practice questions with answers.

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