Choose the correct option for converting the statement given below in to the Indirect Speech:
It is believed that the company lost a lot of money last year
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The company is believed to have lost a lot of money last year
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Direct Speech:
- The sentence "It is believed that the company lost a lot of money last year" uses an impersonal passive construction (It is believed that...).
- To convert this into indirect speech, we use a passive structure with "is believed to have lost".
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Why is the correct option the best choice?
- "The company is believed to have lost a lot of money last year" is grammatically correct because:
- "Is believed" → passive form
- "To have lost" → correct past infinitive form to indicate an event that happened in the past.
- "The company is believed to have lost a lot of money last year" is grammatically correct because:
OTHER OPTIONS
"The company believes to have lost a lot of money last year" → Incorrect
- "Believes" is in the active voice, whereas the original sentence is passive.
"The company is believed to have had lost a lot of money last year" → Incorrect
- "To have had lost" is grammatically incorrect. It should be "to have lost."
"The company is believed to having lost a lot of money last year" → Incorrect
- "Having lost" is incorrect after "is believed to"; it should be "to have lost."
Thus, the best choice is: The company is believed to have lost a lot of money last year.