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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 consultant remarked that had the audit been conducted earlier, the discrepancies would have been detected.

1. "If the audit was conducted earlier, the discrepancies would have been detected," said the consultant.
2. "If only the audit had been conducted earlier, the discrepancies were detected," he said.
3. "Had the audit been conducted earlier, the discrepancies would have been detected," said the consultant.
4. "Had we conduct the audit earlier, the discrepancies would be detected," said the consultant.

Correct answer: "Had the audit been conducted earlier, the discrepancies would have been detected," said the consultant.

Solution

The indirect speech expresses a third conditional condition and result. In direct speech, this is commonly written as “Had the audit been conducted earlier, the discrepancies would have been detected.” The tense and conditional structure must remain unchanged.

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