A sentence is provided in indirect speech. From the four given options, choose the one that most accurately conveys the sentence in its corresponding direct speech.

The supervisor told the staff that the submission deadline had been pushed back by two days.

The correct option is: “The submission deadline has been pushed back by two days,” said the supervisor.

To convert an indirect speech sentence into direct speech, follow these rules of voice and tense conversion:

1. Identify the Tense in Indirect Speech:
The given indirect sentence contains the past perfect tense: "had been pushed back".

2. Apply the Reverse Tense Rule:
When converting from indirect to direct speech, the past perfect tense (had been + past participle) usually changes back to the present perfect tense (has/have been + past participle) if the action has a present relevance, or simple past tense depending on context.
Here, "had been pushed back" changes back to "has been pushed back".

3. Retain Original Structure and Meaning:
The subject of the reported clause remains "The submission deadline", and the action remains passive ("has been pushed back").

4. Add Direct Speech Punctuation:
Enclose the exact spoken words in quotation marks and include the reporting verb phrase: "said the supervisor".

Therefore, the direct speech is: “The submission deadline has been pushed back by two days,” said the supervisor.