Phrasal Verbs — Learn Before the Exercise
What is a phrasal verb?
A phrasal verb combines a verb with a small word such as
up, down, on, away
. The combination often has a meaning different from the verb alone. Example:
figure out
= solve or understand.
Question 23
Match the phrasal verbs from the story with their meanings.
View Answer
Ye table har phrasal verb ko uske correct meaning se match karta hai — jaise 'cooled down' ka matlab hai calm ho jaana aur 'turned up' ka matlab hai appear ho jaana ya mil jaana.
Question 24
Fill the six sentences using the correct phrasal verbs.
How to answer:
Choose the phrasal verb whose meaning fits the full sentence.
View Answer
A. Finally, some important evidence about the case has
turned up
.
Reason:
“turned up” means appeared or was discovered.
B. After I
cooled down
, I understood that I had made a big mistake.
Reason:
“cooled down” means became calm.
C. I couldn’t
figure out
why he was angry with me.
Reason:
“figure out” means solve or understand.
D. He
put on
his special coat and went to his friend’s birthday party.
Reason:
“put on” means wear.
E. Ravi forgets to do his homework but he
got away with
it as the teacher didn’t ask for it that day.
Reason:
“got away with” means escaped without punishment.
F. I do not know what to
make of
his behaviour.
Reason:
“make of” means form an idea or understanding of something.
Har sentence mein context ke hisaab se sahi phrasal verb fit kiya gaya hai — jaise 'turned up' (appear hua), 'cooled down' (calm hua) aur 'figure out' (samajhna). Reason column clearly batata hai ki kaunsa phrase kyun sahi baitha.
Homophones
Same sound, different spelling
Homophones are words that sound alike but have different spellings or meanings. Context tells you which form is correct:
week/weak
,
brake/break
.
Question 25
Complete the homophone sentences with the correct words.
How to answer:
Use the meaning of the sentence rather than sound alone.
View Answer
1. After running for 50 kilometres last
week
, I felt
weak
for two days.
Reason:
“week” is a period of seven days; “weak” means lacking strength.
2. When the committee met yesterday, they brought
four
local cases to the
fore
.
Reason:
“four” is the number; “to the fore” means into a prominent position.
3. While learning to drive, Rina used too much force on the
brake
, causing the car to
break
down.
Reason:
“brake” slows a vehicle; “break down” means stop functioning.
4. He has composed a beautiful
piece
of music in order to bring
peace
to thousands of people.
Reason:
“piece” is a work/item; “peace” means calm or absence of conflict.
5. She was busy
dyeing
her hair, not caring about the
dying
flowers in her garden.
Reason:
“dyeing” means colouring; “dying” means losing life.
Yahan sound-alike words ko unke sahi meaning ke saath use kiya gaya hai — jaise 'week' (saat din) vs 'weak' (kamzor), ya 'dyeing' (colour karna) vs 'dying' (jaan jaana). Sentence ka context hi decide karta hai kaunsa word sahi baithega.
Rebus Puzzles — Read the Position, Not Just the Word
Instructions & Worked Example
Leroy solved the mystery of the missing fifth word with his critical thinking abilities. Work in pairs to solve the puzzles given in the illustrations below and infer what they say. One example has been done for you.
Answer:
Top secret
The word is written three times, and the arrow marks the
top
one — so the position (not just the word) tells you it is the “top” secret.
Question 26
Puzzle 1 — solve the rebus and write the phrase it represents.
View Answer
“AGED” is written three times, and the middle one is underlined to mark its position — middle + aged =
middle-aged
.
Yahan 'AGED' teen baar likha hai aur beech wala underline hai — position hi 'middle' show karta hai, isiliye answer 'middle-aged' hai.
Question 27
Puzzle 2 — solve the rebus and write the phrase it represents.
View Answer
“2” sounds like “to”, and it sits below “stand” — so its position gives “under”: Try + to (2) + under (position) + stand =
try to understand
.
'2' ka sound 'to' jaisa hai, aur 'stand' ke neeche likha hona 'under' batata hai — isse 'try to understand' banta hai.
Question 28
Puzzle 3 — solve the rebus and write the phrase it represents.
View Answer
The upward arrow gives “up”, and the two u’s together sound like “to you” (the letter U is a homophone of “you”) —
up to you
.
Upar ka arrow 'up' batata hai, aur do U's mil kar 'to you' jaisa sound dete hain (U = you) — isse 'up to you' milta hai.
Question 29
Puzzle 4 — solve the rebus and write the phrase it represents.
View Answer
“It” is written four times — “four” sounds like “for” — placed beside “GO”: go + for (4) + it =
go for it
.
'It' char baar likha hai — 'four' sunne mein 'for' jaisa lagta hai — isliye 'go for it' banta hai.
Question 30
Puzzle 5 — solve the rebus and write the phrase it represents.
sense
sense
sense
sense
sense
sense
View Answer
“sense” is written six times, and the sixth (last) one is circled to mark its position —
sixth sense
.
'sense' chhe baar likha hai aur akhri (chhata) wala circle kiya gaya hai — position se 'sixth sense' pata chalta hai.
Question 31
Puzzle 6 — solve the rebus and write the phrase it represents.
M
1
LLION
View Answer
The letter “I” in MILLION is replaced by an enlarged “1” (one), and its position inside the word shows it is “in” a million —
one in a million
.
MILLION ke beech ka 'I' bada '1' bana diya gaya hai — uski position (andar) se 'one in a million' banta hai.
Question 32
Puzzle 7 — solve the rebus and write the phrase it represents.
View Answer
“ONCE” sits above (upon) a clock face, and a clock stands for “time” — once + upon (position: above) + a + time (clock) =
once upon a time
.
'ONCE' clock ke upar likha hai — clock 'time' ko represent karta hai, aur 'upar' hone se 'upon' milta hai — 'once upon a time'.
Question 33
Puzzle 8 — solve the rebus and write the phrase it represents.
View Answer
“ROADS” is written once vertically and once horizontally, crossing each other at the shared letter A —
crossroads
.
'ROADS' ek baar seedha aur ek baar tirchha (vertical + horizontal) likha hai, jo ek dusre ko cross karte hain — isliye 'crossroads'.
Spoonerism
What is a spoonerism?
A spoonerism accidentally exchanges the opening sounds of words, often creating a funny phrase. Example:
wrong load
instead of
long road
.
Question 34
Find the correct order for the spoonerisms.
Source note:
Item 1 is printed as “knowing sits”. It is not silently corrected because the source does not support one unambiguous reconstruction.
View Answer
Spoonerism mein do words ke shuru ke sounds aapas mein swap ho jaate hain, jaise 'master plan' ban jaata hai 'plaster man'. Pehla item source mein clean tareeke se restore nahi hota, isliye NCERT mein jaisa print hai waisa hi rakha gaya hai, koi unsupported answer nahi banaya gaya.
Joining Words and Clauses — Learn Before the Exercise
Words that connect clauses
who
refers to a person;
where
to a place;
when
to time;
which
to a thing/choice;
because
gives a reason;
though
shows contrast;
if
gives a condition;
why
introduces a reason.
Question 35
Fill the detective-story paragraph with words from the box.
How to answer:
Use the job each connecting word performs in the sentence.
View Answer
Detective stories are exciting, keeping readers guessing
(i) who
the real culprit is. They take place in settings
(ii) where
clues are hidden carefully.
(iii) Though
the mystery seems tricky, a clever detective always finds answers. Readers often wonder
(iv) why
criminals leave small but important clues. The challenge is to decide
(v) which
suspect is guilty.
(vi) When
the truth is revealed, everything makes sense. But one may wonder
(vii) if
they could have solved it themselves. These stories are fun
(viii) because
they make readers think till the very end.
Extra words:
whose, how.
Passage question-words se fill hota hai jo sentence ka meaning complete karte hain — jaise 'who' culprit ke liye aur 'why' criminals ke motive ke liye use hota hai. Box ke extra words 'whose' aur 'how' final answer mein use nahi hote.
Question 36
Combine the sentence pairs using suitable connecting words.
How to answer:
Avoid repeating the same noun; use where/who/when to join the information.
View Answer
2. We went to the place
where the incident occurred
.
3. The teacher,
who is now nearly sixty
, said she would retire soon.
4. It was the day
when half the class was absent
.
Har sentence pair ko ek relative clause (where, who, when) se joda gaya hai, jisse do alag sentences milkar ek smooth aur connected sentence ban jaate hain.
Direct and Reported Speech — Learn Before the Exercise
Reporting a question
For a
yes/no question
, use
asked/inquired whether or if
. For a
wh-question
, keep the wh-word but use statement order.
Backshift when needed:
was → had been
,
did → had done
,
will → would
. Time words may change: yesterday → the day before; tomorrow → the following day.
Question 37
Convert the five questions from the text into reported speech.
How to answer:
Identify the question type first, then change pronouns, tense and time/place words where required.
View Answer
(i) Mrs Brown asked
what was suspicious about that
.
(ii) Mrs Brown questioned Leroy
what he made of the four words
.
(iii) Mrs Brown inquired
whether he had not been mixed up in a jewellery robbery a few years before
.
(iv) Mrs Brown asked Chief Brown
whether he had not searched Nolan’s house
.
(v)
Following the printed exercise stem:
Mrs Brown inquired
whether there was a young fir tree in Mr Nolan’s nursery
.
Source speaker mismatch:
In the story, the fir-tree question is actually asked by
Encyclopedia
, not Mrs Brown. The exercise stem itself prints “Mrs. Brown inquired…”. Both source facts are shown here rather than silently replacing one with the other.
Direct questions ko reported speech mein badalte waqt tense aur pronouns change hote hain, 'asked' ya 'inquired' ke through. Ek source mismatch bhi hai — fir-tree wala question actually story mein Encyclopedia ne poocha tha, na ki Mrs Brown ne, lekin exercise ka original stem 'Mrs Brown' hi likhta hai, isliye dono facts yahan saath diye gaye hain.
Question 38
Rewrite the six sentences in Reported Speech.
How to answer:
For questions, remove question-word order and use asked/inquired + whether/if where required.
View Answer
1. Rohan questioned
why I had stopped talking to him
.
2. My aunt asked
whether I had enjoyed the family gathering the day before
.
3. My grandmother inquired
when I would visit them again
.
4. Madavi asked Ravi
whether he would go with her to meet their old teacher the following day
.
5. My friend inquired
what gift I was planning to give my brother
.
6. Veenu asked her teacher
whether she should carry those notebooks to the staffroom
.
In sentences mein direct questions ko indirect speech mein badla gaya hai — question word ya 'whether' use karke, aur tense ko backshift kiya gaya hai jaise 'would' aur 'had' se.
Question 39
Complete Aditi and Rahul’s conversation in indirect speech.
How to answer:
Keep the original meaning while changing question form and tense.
View Answer
1. Aditi asked Rahul
whether he had seen anyone leave a package near the lift
.
2. Aditi asked Rahul
what time he had seen that happen
.
3. Aditi further inquired
whether he had been able to see the man’s face
.
Source pronoun note:
The dialogue says
the man
wore a hood. The printed follow-up paragraph says “Rahul said that
he
had worn a hood”, which is grammatically ambiguous. The intended meaning is that the man wore the hood, preventing Rahul from seeing his face.
Conversation ko 'asked whether' aur 'inquired what' jaise structures se reported speech mein convert kiya gaya hai. Ek pronoun ambiguity bhi hai — text mein 'he had worn a hood' likha hai jo confusing lagta hai, lekin intended meaning ye hai ki wo aadmi khud hood pehne tha, isliye Rahul uska face nahi dekh paya.
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