Select the most appropriate indirect transformation of the following…

The correct answer is Option (3) → They exclaimed that the hill was very steep and they were quite tired.

Exclamatory sentence in indirect speech:

Other standard changes: am/is → was, do/does → did, has/have → had, will → would, can → could, may → might. "Now" → "then", "here" → "there".

Change	Direct	Indirect	Why
Reporting verb	said	exclaimed that	An exclamation is reported with exclaimed (that), not “said” or “told”.
Word order	How steep the hill is!	the hill was very steep	The exclamation “How steep the hill is!” becomes a statement, and “how” becomes “very”: the hill was very steep. The exclamation mark goes.
Tense change	is, are	was, were	The reporting verb “said” is in the past, so “is” becomes was and “are” becomes were.
Pronoun change	we	they	The speakers' “we” becomes they.
Full sentence	“How steep the hill is!” they said, “we are quite tired.”	They exclaimed that the hill was very steep and they were quite tired.

Example: “What a lovely view!” she said. → She exclaimed that it was a very lovely view.

Why the Other Options are Incorrect?

Option 1: They told that the hill was very steep and they were quite tired. — Incorrect.

• An exclamation needs "exclaimed". "Told" reports a plain statement.
• "Told" also needs a person after it (told us). "They told that" is not standard English.

Option 2: They said that the hill is very steep and they were quite tired. — Incorrect.

• "Said" loses the sense of exclamation.
• "is" is not changed to "was", although "are" is changed to "were".

Option 4: They exclaimed that the hill is very steep and they were quite tired. — Incorrect. The reporting verb is right, but "is" is not changed to "was" after the past "exclaimed".