1. Congratulations you on winning first prize in the spelling contest.
2. Congratulations you on your winning first prize in the spelling contest.
3. Congratulations on winning first prize in the spelling contest.
4. Congratulations on your winning first prize in the spelling contest.
(Are they all grammatical? Which ones are commonly used? Thank you. Can we use 'getting' instead of 'winning'?)
Only 3 is correct.
Winning is much better than getting.
1. Congratulations you on winning first prize in the spelling contest.
2. Congratulations you on your winning first prize in the spelling contest.
3. Congratulations on winning first prize in the spelling contest.
4. Congratulations on your winning first prize in the spelling contest.
All of these sentences are grammatically correct, but some are more commonly used than others.
Sentence 3, "Congratulations on winning first prize in the spelling contest," is the most commonly used and preferred phrasing. It is concise and conveys the message clearly.
Sentence 4, "Congratulations on your winning first prize in the spelling contest," is also grammatically correct, but it sounds slightly more formal or old-fashioned. It adds the possessive pronoun "your" before "winning" to emphasize the ownership of the prize.
Sentence 2, "Congratulations you on your winning first prize in the spelling contest," is less commonly used and may sound awkward to native English speakers. The use of "you" before "on your winning" is not necessary and breaks the flow of the sentence.
Sentence 1, "Congratulations you on winning first prize in the spelling contest," is grammatically correct but does not convey the same level of clarity as the other options. It lacks the preposition "on," which is needed to introduce the phrase "winning first prize."
Regarding using "getting" instead of "winning," you could say "Congratulations on getting first prize in the spelling contest," but "winning" is more commonly used in this context. "Winning" specifically refers to achieving first place, whereas "getting" is more general and could imply any level of achievement.