Select the option that expresses the given sentence in direct speech.
The principal congratulated the robotics club on their national award and said that they had made the school proud that year.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → The principal said to the robotics club, “Congratulations on your national award! You have made the school proud this year.”
Changing a congratulation from indirect back into direct speech:
| Change | Indirect | Direct | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | congratulated the robotics club on | said to the robotics club, “Congratulations on ...!” | “Congratulated ... on” goes back to the plain “said to”. The good wish now shows in the spoken word “Congratulations!”. |
| Joining word | and said that | “ ” (quotation marks) | “And said that” is dropped. The second sentence goes inside the same quotation marks. |
| Tense change | had made | have made | Going back, the past perfect “had made” returns to the present perfect “have made”. The past perfect is formed with had + past participle (V3). The present perfect is formed with has / have + V3. |
| Pronoun change | their, they | your, You | The principal speaks to the club members directly. So “their” becomes “your” and “they” becomes “you”. |
| Time word | that year | this year | In the speaker’s own words the year is the present one. So “that year” becomes “this year”. |
| Full sentence | The principal congratulated the robotics club on their national award and said that they had made the school proud that year. | The principal said to the robotics club, “Congratulations on your national award! You have made the school proud this year.” |
Other good wishes go back in the same way: wished a happy birthday, thanked, greeted. Example: Ravi wished me a happy birthday. → “Happy birthday!” Ravi said to me.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: The principal said to the robotics club, “Congratulations on their national award! They have made the school proud this year.” — Incorrect. “Their” and “they” are kept. The principal speaks to the club directly, so they become “your” and “you”.
Option 3: The principal said to the robotics club, “Congratulations on your national award! You had made the school proud this year.” — Incorrect. “Had made” is not changed back. In the spoken words it becomes “have made”.
Option 4: The principal said to the robotics club, “Congratulations on your national award! You have made the school proud that year.” — Incorrect. “That year” is kept. In the spoken words it becomes “this year”.