ldquo As many as 20 of the trees were uprooted while the rest were found snapped and broken rdquo W...........

English (SSC) Direct/Indirect speech

“As many as 20% of the trees were uprooted, while the rest were found snapped and broken.” Wildlife officials said.

Wildlife officials said that as many as 20% of the trees had been uprooted, while the rest had been found snapped and broken.

Wildlife officials said that as many as 20% of the trees were uprooted, while the rest had been found snapped and broken.

Wildlife officials said that as many as 20% of the trees had been uprooted, while the rest were found snapped and broken.

Wildlife officials said that as many as 20% of the trees have been uprooted, while the rest have been found snapped and broken.

Explanation:

- Option 1: This sentence uses past perfect tense for both actions ("had been uprooted," "had been found"). It indicates that both actions were completed in the past relative to the reporting.

- Option 2: "Were uprooted" uses simple past tense, while "had been found" uses past perfect. The tenses are inconsistent, as past perfect should be used to clarify that events happened before another past event.

- Option 3: "Had been uprooted" is past perfect and "were found" is simple past. This combination is grammatically correct and shows a logical sequence.

- Option 4: "Have been uprooted" and "have been found" use present perfect, implying ongoing relevance or occurrence, which is not consistent with past reporting.