Select the correct indirect form of the given sentence.Hariram said,…

The correct answer is Option (1) → Hariram exclaimed that the fields were very dry that year.

Changing a “How ...!” sentence into indirect speech:

Change	Direct	Indirect	Why
Reporting verb	said	exclaimed	“How dry ...!” shows strong feeling. So “said” becomes “exclaimed”.
Joining word	“ ” (quotation marks)	that	“That” joins the reported words.
Exclamation to statement	How dry the fields are!	the fields were very dry	“How” and “!” are dropped. The words become a plain statement, and “very” now shows the strong feeling.
Tense change	are	were	“Are” is in the simple present. The verb “be” in the simple present is am / is / are. After the past “said” it becomes the simple past “were”. The verb “be” in the simple past is was / were.
Time word	this year	that year	The words are reported later, so “this year” becomes “that year”.
Full sentence	Hariram said, “How dry the fields are this year!”	Hariram exclaimed that the fields were very dry that year.

A “What a ...!” sentence changes in the same way. Example: Gauri said, “What a long queue it is!” → Gauri exclaimed that it was a very long queue.

Why the Other Options are Incorrect?

Option 2: Hariram exclaimed that how dry the fields were that year. — Incorrect. “That how” keeps the exclamation form. In the report it must be a plain statement: “that the fields were very dry”.

Option 3: Hariram exclaimed that the fields are very dry that year. — Incorrect. The present “are” is kept. After the past “said” it must become “were”.

Option 4: Hariram exclaimed that the fields had been very dry that year. — Incorrect. “Are” moves back only one step, to “were”. “Had been” is the change for “were” or “have been”.