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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 archaeologist noted that the artefact had been deliberately concealed.

1. The archaeologist said, "Someone concealed the artefact deliberately."
2. He noted, "The artefact is being concealed."
3. The archaeologist said, "The artefact had been deliberately concealed."
4. He said, "The artefact was never found."

Correct answer: The archaeologist said, "The artefact had been deliberately concealed."

Solution

In indirect speech, "had been deliberately concealed" is past perfect passive. When converted to direct speech, the tense remains the same inside quotation marks. The option that preserves both meaning and tense is the correct one.

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