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Select the correct option for the direct speech conversion of the sentence below: The ecologist cautioned that the region’s carrying capacity might be surpassed if invasive organisms multiplied without control.

1. The ecologist said, “The region’s carrying capacity will be surpassed if invasive organisms multiply without control.”
2. The ecologist said, “Had invasive organisms multiplied without control, the region’s carrying capacity would be surpassed.”
3. The ecologist said, “The region’s carrying capacity might be surpassed if invasive organisms multiply without control.”
4. The ecologist said, “If invasive organisms multiplied without control, the carrying capacity had been surpassed.”

Correct answer: The ecologist said, “The region’s carrying capacity might be surpassed if invasive organisms multiply without control.”

Solution

The original sentence is in reported speech with the modal “might,” so the direct speech should retain that possibility. The conditional clause also remains in the present tense form after the quotation mark.

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