Choose the best option to convert the given Assertive Sentence into Exclamatory Sentence:
I wish I knew more people here.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → If only I knew more people here!
Assertive to exclamatory (a wish):
| Change | Assertive | Exclamatory | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening words | I wish | If only | A wish stated as “I wish ...” becomes an exclamation with “If only ...!” (or “Would that ...!”). |
| End mark | (.) | (!) | The full stop becomes an exclamation mark. |
| Full sentence | I wish I knew more people here. | If only I knew more people here! |
The rest of the sentence keeps its verb form: "I knew more people here" stays as it is, since "knew" after a wish refers to the present.
Example: I wish I were taller. → If only I were taller!
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: What a pity to have known more people here. — Incorrect. It says it is a pity to have known more people, the reverse of the wish, and it ends with a full stop.
Option 3: Oh! Fie! I know nobody here. — Incorrect. "Fie" expresses disgust, not longing, and "I know nobody here" changes "more people" into nobody at all.
Option 4: Alas! I could have known more people here. — Incorrect. "Could have known" is a regret about a past chance that was missed. The given sentence is a wish about the present.