In this English grammar question on direct and indirect speech, choose the option that correctly reports the statement: I said to my father, "I had a great time yesterday."

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your understanding of reported speech with the past perfect tense and time expressions. The original sentence reports that the speaker enjoyed an earlier occasion described as yesterday. To convert this sentence into indirect speech, you must handle the double past structure correctly and change the time word yesterday to an appropriate form like the day before. This type of question commonly appears in exams because it checks careful control of tense and time expressions.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Direct sentence: I said to my father, "I had a great time yesterday."
• Reporting verb: said to, with object my father.
• The verb phrase in the reported clause is had a great time, which is past perfect or can be treated as a completed past action within another past time frame.
• The time expression used is yesterday.
• The subject I refers to the same person in the report.

Concept / Approach:
In indirect speech, said to my father is often changed to told my father. The pronoun I remains I because the speaker is reporting their own experience. The key is to recognise that had a great time is best treated as had had a great time when reported, to show that the enjoyment happened before the time of speaking in the past. The time word yesterday usually changes to the day before or the previous day in reported speech. Putting this together, we get I told my father that I had had a great time the day before.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Change the reporting phrase I said to my father into I told my father. Step 2: Introduce the reported clause with that for clarity and formality. Step 3: Keep the subject I as I, since the same person is speaking in the report. Step 4: Convert had a great time into had had a great time to reflect a past action before a past point of speaking. Step 5: Replace yesterday with the day before, which is the standard expression in reported speech.

Verification / Alternative check:
The final sentence is: I told my father that I had had a great time the day before. It shows that before speaking to his father, the speaker had already enjoyed the event. The double had had is grammatically correct for past perfect and is typical in exam questions that aim to test careful use of tense. The time expression the day before clearly corresponds to yesterday from the original speaker’s point of view. All elements work together to form a precise and accurate reported sentence.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B is very close but uses the previous day instead of the day before; although possible, the test usually expects exactly the pattern given in Option A as the model answer.
Option C is incorrect because it uses had a great time instead of had had a great time, weakening the past perfect nuance.
Option D is awkward because the phrase the day before that day is redundant and not standard English usage.
Option E is incorrect because have had a great time introduces present perfect into a context where the reporting verb is in the past.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners often feel uncomfortable with the double had had and may try to simplify it incorrectly, losing the precise time reference of the past perfect. Another frequent error is forgetting to change yesterday into the day before or the previous day. Some students also change the pronoun I unnecessarily or misinterpret the time sequence. To avoid such mistakes, remember that past perfect is used to show an action completed before another past action, and that words like yesterday usually require a new form in reported speech.

Final Answer:
I told my father that I had had a great time the day before.