“He said that he had done the work”. The direct speech is- ?

The question presents a sentence in reported speech: "He said that he had done the work." To convert this statement back into direct speech, we need to identify the original words used by the speaker, maintaining the original meaning as closely as possible.

In reported speech, the phrase "he had done" indicates that the speaker is referring to an action completed in the past relative to another past reference point. The direct speech equivalent should capture this past completed action accurately. Among the options provided, we evaluate them:

A) "He said, I will do the work" implies a future intention, which does not match the original meaning.

B) "He said, the work will be done by me" also suggests a future action and alters the intended message.

C) "He said, I do the work" suggests a present action, which fails to convey that the work is already completed.

D) "He said, he did the work" correctly reflects a past action and directly conveys the information as the speaker would have articulated it. It retains the past tense and accurately represents the completion of the task.

Thus, option D is the correct choice because it encapsulates the essence of the reported statement while maintaining grammatical correctness and appropriate tense usage.