Choose the most appropriate reported construction of the following sentence:
The retired headmaster said to Divya, “May you clear your medical entrance exam! You have prepared for it day and night this year.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The retired headmaster prayed that Divya might clear her medical entrance exam and said that she had prepared for it day and night that year.
Changing a wish and a statement into indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to Divya | prayed ... and said | “May you ...!” is a blessing, so “said to” becomes “prayed”. The second part is a statement, so it is brought in with “and said”. |
| Joining word | “ ” (quotation marks) | that ... that | “That” joins each part. |
| Word order | May you clear | Divya might clear | The wish becomes a plain statement. The subject “Divya” comes before “might”. |
| Tense change | may, have prepared | might, had prepared | After the past “said”, “may” becomes “might” (might + base form (V1)). “Have prepared” is in the present perfect. The present perfect is formed with has / have + past participle (V3). So it becomes the past perfect “had prepared”. The past perfect is formed with had + V3. |
| Pronoun change | you, your, You | Divya, her, she | Divya is spoken to. So the first “you” becomes her name, “your” becomes “her” and the second “You” becomes “she”. |
| Time word | this year | that year | The words are reported later, so “this year” becomes “that year”. |
| Full sentence | The retired headmaster said to Divya, “May you clear your medical entrance exam! You have prepared for it day and night this year.” | The retired headmaster prayed that Divya might clear her medical entrance exam and said that she had prepared for it day and night that year. |
“Wished” can report a kind wish in the same way, with “may” becoming “might”. Example: Papa said to me, “May your journey be safe!” → Papa wished that my journey might be safe.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: The retired headmaster prayed that Divya may clear her medical entrance exam and said that she had prepared for it day and night that year. — Incorrect. “May” is left unchanged. After the past “said” it must become “might”.
Option 2: The retired headmaster prayed that Divya might clear her medical entrance exam and said that she has prepared for it day and night that year. — Incorrect. The present perfect “has prepared” is kept. After the past “said” it must become “had prepared”.
Option 3: The retired headmaster prayed that may Divya clear her medical entrance exam and said that she had prepared for it day and night that year. — Incorrect. “May Divya clear” keeps the word order of the wish. In the report the subject comes first: “Divya might clear”.