Choose the most appropriate reported construction of the following sentence:
Pankaj said to his sister, “Congratulations! You have passed your driving test without a single mistake.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Pankaj congratulated his sister on passing her driving test without a single mistake.
Changing a “Congratulations!” sentence into indirect speech:
| Change | Direct | Indirect | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | said to his sister, “Congratulations! | congratulated his sister | “Congratulations!” is dropped. The verb “congratulated” now carries the good wishes and takes the person straight after it. |
| On + -ing | You have passed | on passing | “Congratulated” is followed by “on” + the -ing form. So “you have passed” becomes “on passing”. |
| Pronoun change | your | her | The sister is spoken to, so “your” becomes “her”. |
| Full sentence | Pankaj said to his sister, “Congratulations! You have passed your driving test without a single mistake.” | Pankaj congratulated his sister on passing her driving test without a single mistake. |
Thanks and other wishes are reported with their own verbs in the same way. Example: Raju said to me, “Thank you for the lovely gift.” → Raju thanked me for the lovely gift.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Pankaj congratulated to his sister on passing her driving test without a single mistake. — Incorrect. “Congratulated to” is wrong. “Congratulated” takes the person straight after it: “congratulated his sister”.
Option 3: Pankaj congratulated his sister on passing your driving test without a single mistake. — Incorrect. “Your” is not changed. The sister is spoken to, so it becomes “her”.
Option 4: Pankaj congratulated his sister that she had passed her driving test without a single mistake. — Incorrect. “That she had passed” cannot follow “congratulated” + person. This verb takes “on” + -ing: “on passing”.