In the following Direct and Indirect speech question, select the option that correctly converts the sentence “He said to the principal, ‘I have made a mistake.’” into indirect speech.

Introduction / Context:
This question checks understanding of rules for changing direct speech into indirect speech in English. The original sentence reports what a person said to the principal about a mistake. We must preserve the sense while correctly shifting tense, pronouns, and removing quotation marks.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Direct speech: “He said to the principal, ‘I have made a mistake.’”
• Reporting verb: “said to”, which will usually become “told”.
• Reported clause: “I have made a mistake.”
• Speaker: “He”, and listener: “the principal”.

Concept / Approach:
When converting from direct to indirect speech with a past reporting verb like “said”, we normally backshift the tense in the reported clause. Present perfect (“have made”) changes to past perfect (“had made”). The pronoun “I” in the original refers to the subject “He”, so it must change to “he”. The phrase “said to the principal” changes to “told the principal”, followed by “that” introducing the reported clause.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Replace “said to the principal” with “told the principal”. Step 2: Introduce the reported clause with “that”. Step 3: Change the pronoun “I” to “he”, because the speaker is the same person as the subject “He”. Step 4: Backshift the tense from present perfect “have made” to past perfect “had made”. Step 5: Combine everything to get: “He told the principal that he had made a mistake.” This matches Option B.

Verification / Alternative check:
Check the standard rule: when the reporting verb is in the past tense, present perfect in the quoted speech becomes past perfect in indirect speech. Also, the content of the message stays the same: he is admitting a past mistake. There is no change in meaning, only in form. The resulting sentence is smooth and grammatically correct.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A: “I have had made a mistake” is ungrammatical and keeps “I”, which does not match the subject in indirect speech. Option C: “He tells the principal that he has made a mistake.” uses present tense “tells” and “has made”, which does not correspond to the past reporting verb “said”. Option D: “He told the principal this that he has made a mistake.” is awkward, retains present perfect, and adds an unnecessary “this”.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners often forget to backshift the tense when the reporting verb is in the past, or they keep the pronoun “I” instead of converting it according to the subject in the reporting clause. Another issue is mixing tenses within the same sentence. For exam purposes, follow a clear sequence: adjust pronouns, then adjust tenses, then adjust time expressions if present.

Final Answer:
The correct indirect version is He told the principal that he had made a mistake.