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. They said that they were playing chess.

Explanation

The correct option is (a). To convert indirect speech to direct speech, we restore the original words of the speaker using quotation marks and adjust pronouns and tense appropriately. In indirect speech, “were playing” is Past Continuous. This form often appears because of backshift from Present Continuous (“are playing”) when the reporting verb is in the past (“said”). Therefore, the most accurate direct speech generally restores the tense to Present Continuous. Rule-based changes applied: Remove the conjunction “that”. Use quotation marks to present the exact spoken words. Pronoun adjustment: “they” (reported) becomes “we” in direct speech because the original speakers referred to themselves. Tense restoration: “were playing” in reported speech can correspond to “are playing” in direct speech due to backshift rules. Thus, the correct direct speech is: They said, “We are playing chess.” Why other options are incorrect: Option B: Uses “they” inside the quote, which is inconsistent because the speakers would normally say “we” for themselves. Option C: Changes meaning to Past Perfect (“had played”), which indicates a completed action, not an ongoing one. Option D: Keeps Past Continuous; it can be possible in some contexts, but the standard restoration from backshift is Present Continuous, making option (A) the best match here. So the correct answer is (a)