Select the option that expresses the given sentence in direct speech.
They said that they had gone on a vacation
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The correct answer is option 4 i.e. They said, “we have gone on a vacation.”
Narration Concept: To convert from indirect to direct speech, identify the reporting verb and the tense used in the reported clause
Grammatical Explanation:
Indirect sentence: They said that they had gone on a vacation
Reporting verb "said" is in past but there's no object, so no change in pronouns is required beyond shifting "they" to "we" (as if quoting themselves)
"had gone" in indirect becomes "have gone" in direct when reporting their own recent experience
Correct tense for reporting own action is present perfect in direct: "have gone"
Correction: They said that they had gone on a vacation → They said, “We have gone on a vacation”
Final Sentence: They said, “We have gone on a vacation”
Conclusion: The correct direct speech form is They said, “We have gone on a vacation”