A sentence is provided in indirect speech . From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence…

Question

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.

1. A. "Justice should be served at any cost," said the judge.
2. B. "Justice must be served at any cost," the judge said. (Correct answer)
3. C. "We serve justice at any cost," said the judge.
4. D. "One must serve justice," the judge said.

Correct Answer

Option B — "Justice must be served at any cost," the judge said.

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is "Justice must be served at any cost," said the judge.

Key Points

• Converting indirect to direct speech restores the speaker's exact words: remove *that*, add quotation marks, and capitalise the opening word.
• The modal must is preserved — it carries the force of obligation the judge expressed, and weakening it to *should* changes the meaning.
• Option A substitutes *should*, option C rewrites the passive as an active "We serve justice", and option D reformulates it as a general maxim with *one*.

Additional Information

• Must in reported speech may remain *must* or become *had to*; converting back, either form returns to *must*.
• The voice must be preserved: the original reports a passive statement, so the direct form stays passive.
• The right answer changes only the framing — punctuation, pronouns and tense — never the content or its force. Testing each option against that single criterion resolves these questions quickly.