NDA (II) 2025 General Ability Test · Question 7 of 147

Correct — A. 'Alas!' expresses sorrow, so the exclamation is reported with the verb 'regretted'; 'we' shifts to 'they' and the past tense 'lost' back-shifts to the past perfect 'had lost', giving 'regretted that they had lost the match by one point'.

• (b)The Captain regretted that they lost the match by one point — Uses 'regretted' correctly but fails to back-shift 'lost' to 'had lost'.
• (c)The Captain exclaimed that they had lost the match by one point — 'Exclaimed' reports the outburst but drops the sorrowful sense that 'Alas!' carries, which 'regretted' captures.
• (d)The Captain told the team that they had lost the match by one point — 'Told the team' turns it into a plain statement and loses the emotion of 'Alas!'; there is also no 'team' in the original.

Reporting an exclamation of sorrow ('Alas!') uses a verb like 'regretted' or 'lamented', with the usual pronoun and tense back-shift.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  'Hurrah! We have won,' she said. In reported speech this becomes: She exclaimed with joy that —

  • (a)they had won
  • (b)we have won
  • (c)they win
  • (d)they will win

  Answer(a) they had won — joyful exclamation → 'exclaimed with joy'; we→they, have won→had won.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  'Alas!' in reported speech is best expressed by —

  • (a)exclaimed with joy
  • (b)regretted / exclaimed with sorrow
  • (c)ordered
  • (d)requested

  Answer(b) regretted / exclaimed with sorrow — 'Alas!' signals grief or regret.