Select the option that expresses the given sentence in direct speech.
Kabir exclaimed with joy that his team had won the district kabaddi final.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Kabir said, “Hurrah! My team has won the district kabaddi final.”
Changing an exclamation from indirect back into direct speech:
| Change | Indirect | Direct | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting verb | exclaimed with joy | said, “Hurrah! ...” | “Exclaimed with joy” tells us Kabir shouted in happiness. In his own words this joy is shown by “Hurrah!”, and “exclaimed” goes back to “said”. |
| Joining word | that | “ ” (quotation marks) | “That” is dropped. The spoken words go inside quotation marks. |
| Pronoun change | his | My | Kabir is the speaker. In his own words “his team” becomes “my team”. |
| Tense change | had won | has won | “Had won” is in the past perfect only because of the past “exclaimed”. The past perfect is formed with had + past participle (V3). Going back, it returns to the present perfect “has won”. The present perfect is formed with has / have + V3. |
| Full sentence | Kabir exclaimed with joy that his team had won the district kabaddi final. | Kabir said, “Hurrah! My team has won the district kabaddi final.” |
“Exclaimed with sorrow” goes back to “Alas!” in the same way. Example: Neel exclaimed with sorrow that he had lost his wallet. → “Alas, I have lost my wallet,” Neel said.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Kabir said, “Hurrah! His team has won the district kabaddi final.” — Incorrect. The pronoun “his” is not changed. In his own words Kabir says “my team”.
Option 3: Kabir said, “Hurrah! My team had won the district kabaddi final.” — Incorrect. “Had won” is kept inside the quotation marks. It came only from the past “exclaimed”, so it goes back to “has won”.
Option 4: Kabir said, “Hurrah! That my team has won the district kabaddi final.” — Incorrect. “That” is kept inside the quotation marks. Spoken words do not begin with this joining word.