Select the option that expresses the given sentence in the reported speech.
“What a wonderful ride it was!” said Madhav.

Correct option is B

The correct reported speech is (b) Madhav exclaimed that it was a wonderful ride.
Direct speech refers to the exact words spoken by a person, written within quotation marks. It reproduces the speaker’s original words as they were spoken.
Indirect speech (or reported speech) refers to reporting what someone said without quoting them exactly. The words are often paraphrased and adjusted to fit grammatical structure, especially in tense, pronouns, time expressions, etc.
Explanation:
· The sentence is exclamatory in direct speech, so it uses the reporting verb “exclaimed”.
· While converting to indirect speech, remove exclamation and use a statement form.
Structure:
· Direct: “What a + adj + noun + it is/was!”
· Indirect: exclaimed that it was a + adj + noun.
Correct transformation:
“What a wonderful ride it was!” → “He exclaimed that it was a wonderful ride.”
Incorrect
· (a) Wrong word order – "was it" used
· (c) Retains direct speech structure
· (d) Changes exclamatory to interrogative – incorrect mood
Example:
Direct: “What a great player he is!”
Indirect: He exclaimed that he was a great player.