Choose the correct sentence in indirect speech for the following sentence in direct speech:
He said, "Congratulations! You have done well."
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → He congratulated him and added that he had done well.
Direct to indirect speech (exclamation + statement):
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said, “Congratulations!” | congratulated him | The exclamation “Congratulations!” is reported by a suitable verb: “congratulated him”. |
| Joining the statement | “ ” (quotation marks) | and added that | The second part is a statement, joined by “and added that”. |
| Tense change | have done | had done | The present perfect “have done” becomes the past perfect “had done”. |
| Pronoun change | You | he | “You” becomes “he”. |
| Full sentence | He said, “Congratulations! You have done well.” | He congratulated him and added that he had done well. |
Example: He said, “Bravo! You have won.” → He applauded him and said that he had won.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: He said congratulations, you have done well. — Incorrect. It keeps the direct words unchanged: no reporting verb for the exclamation, no pronoun or tense change.
Option 2: He congratulated him that he has done well. — Incorrect.
- Congratulate is not followed by a that-clause. The statement needs its own link ("and added that").
- "has done" is not changed to had done.
Option 3: He applauded him and said you have done well. — Incorrect.
- "Congratulations" is reported by congratulated. To applaud is to clap or praise in general.
- "you have done" keeps the direct pronoun and tense.