In the following question, a sentence has been given in Indirect Speech. Choose the correct Direct Speech form.
The climatologist said that if global temperatures kept rising, sea levels would threaten major coastal cities.

Correct option is C

The correct direct speech is (c).
The given sentence is in Indirect Speech, and we need to change it to Direct Speech.
Step 1: Reported Speech
Indirect: “... if global temperatures kept rising, sea levels would threaten major coastal cities.”
Here, the modal “would” is already present.
Step 2: Rule of Will → Would
· Normally, in Direct → Indirect, “will” changes to “would” because of tense backshift.
· Direct: He said, “It will rain tomorrow.”
· Indirect: He said that it would rain the next day.
· While going Indirect → Direct, if “would” was only a backshift of “will,” then it reverts to “will.”
Step 3: Exception for Conditionals
· In this sentence, “would” is not a backshift of “will” but a part of a conditional structure (“If X … Y would …”).
· In such cases, “would” remains unchanged in Direct Speech.
Verify Options
· (a) “will threaten” → wrong because this assumes backshift, but here “would” is original conditional, not a backshift.
· (b) “had kept rising … would have threatened” → tense distortion.
· (c) Correct: keeps “would threaten” intact as in conditional.
· (d) Present tense “keep rising … threaten” → wrong.
Correct Answer: (c)
Direct Speech: The climatologist said, "If global temperatures kept rising, sea levels would threaten major coastal cities."