Exercise 1: Convert the following sentences according to the instructions given in brackets. One is done for you. a) Zoya does yoga in the morning. (Change it to the past continuous tense.) Ans. Zoya was doing yoga in the morning. b) I am working on my assignment. (Change it to the simple past tense.) Ans. c) They will discuss the project. (Change it to the present continuous tense.) Ans. d) I made lemonade. (Change it to the simple future tense.) Ans. e) There was a lot of noise. (Change it to the simple present tense.) Ans. f) Shazia took a nap. (Change it to the present continuous tense.) Ans. Revision of present and past perfect tenses Remember T he present perfect tense reports news or describes completed actions (past) that are important now. It also talks about actions or situations that have started in the past and continue into the present. Rule: subject + have/has + past participle form of verb + object Example: • Meera has eaten pancakes. W e use the past perfect tense to show which of the two past actions happened first. Rule: subject + had + past participle form of verb + object Example: • Afshan had eaten the pancakes before his sister arrived home. Tenses 17
Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the present perfect or past perfect forms of the words given in brackets. One is done for you. Disha has been (be) to Europe before, and this year, she is going again. I saw the photographs she _____________________________ (taken). Disha’s travel photos _____________________________ (inspire) me to plan a Europe trip of my own. I _____________________________ (buy) tickets to Zurich already, and Disha _____________________________ (promise) to help me plan my trip. I will also invite my cousin, as I _____________________________ (tell) her earlier that we would go together. Present perfect tense vs. simple past tense We often incorrectly use the simple past tense in place of the present perfect tense. Let us compare the two tenses to understand their correct usage. Present perfect tense Simple past tense Structure: Structure: subject + has/have + past participle form subject + past tense form of verb + object of verb + object Example: Example: Sonal has eaten a mango. I ate a mango yesterday. It talks about an action that started in the It talks about an action that finished in past and continues in the present. the past. Example: Example: I have known Gaurav for ten years. I knew Gaurav when we were in kindergarten. When he moved to a It refers to a finished action that has a different city, we lost touch. result in the present. Example: It refers to a finished action with no result I have lost my laptop. I can’t work now. (The result is that the speaker can’t work.) in the present. Example: I lost my laptop yesterday. I felt very sad! 18
Present perfect tense Simple past tense It uses expressions that refer to any time It uses expressions that refer to finished up to the point of speaking ('before', time ('yesterday', 'last week', 'three years 'never', 'recently', 'often', 'already', etc.). ago', 'then', etc.). Exercise 3: Convert the given sentences into the present perfect tense. One is done for you. a) I make pastries. Ans. I have made pastries. b) I bought a football. Ans. c) She drew a picture. Ans. d) Sonali finished the report. Ans. e) Alia went to the shop. Ans. f) Sumit cleaned his bicycle. Ans. Tenses 19
R4 Reading Comprehension Passage 1 Read the passage and answer the questions given below. Two men and a woman approach. Old man: I have already paid money for this land. We’ll make multi-storeyed buildings here. Young lady: S ir, let’s provide facilities like a club, gym, pool and all-day water and power supply for the residents. Old man: W e’ll make a good profit. People who buy apartments over here will pay us a good amount. Old man: L et’s go. We’ll begin the work by next week! (They leave together.) All trees: Oh! Pine tree: Our end is near. (A group of two young men and a middle-aged woman approach.) Young man: Look at this Green Forest. Isn’t it beautiful? We will never allow this to be cut down. We are environmentalists, and we will fight to save the trees. Another young man: I often come here for nature walks. Families and children come here for picnics. Some painters come here and make beautiful paintings. Middle-aged lady: That is right. This forest and the trees are so important for us. The animals and birds will also have nowhere to go. We’ll go to court. Why should the forest be destroyed? Let’s get orders to stop any construction work that may be taken up here. (They leave together.) 26
ordered that no construction should take place here. The environmentalists have saved us. Everybody is talking about it. We are all safe. All the trees: G od bless the environmentalists. Humans should understand that they are closest to God when they are close to nature. 1) What was the old man planning to make on the land? Ans. 2) What did the pine tree tell the other trees at the start? Ans. 3) Fill in the blanks with the correct verb forms from the brackets. a) Her finger started to __________________________ (bled/bleed) when she cut it. b) R am __________________________ (hold/held) the arrow in his hand. c) The dog __________________________ (bite/bit) Geeta as she tried to slap it. 4) The meaning of the word ‘environmentalist’ is . 5) Match the words with their correct meanings. Column A Column B a) residents A) gain b) facilities B) people who stay somewhere for a long time c) profit C) places or equipment provided for particular purposes Reading Comprehension 4 27
Passage 2 Read the passage and answer the questions given below. India was celebrating its Republic Day on the 26th of January. It was a national holiday. Mr Gupta was very annoyed and in a bad mood. He had had to close his factory and give the workers time off from work. A lot of work was incomplete and left undone. His profits would suffer. Mr Gupta was driving his luxury car with the air conditioner on full blast. At the traffic light, he slowed down and then stopped as the light turned red. His mood worsened. Just then, he happened to look out of the window and see a boy selling Indian flags. The boy was dressed in torn clothes, but his smile was infectious and lit up his face. On a whim, Mr Gupta rolled the window down and called out to him, ‘I want two flags’. The boy immediately ran over to him and handed him the flags, saying ‘Please give me change.’ Mr Gupta took out a ` 20 note and held it out. ‘No, change please’, repeated the boy. Mr Gupta was surprised. ‘I am giving change’, he said. ‘The flags are for ` 1 each, please give me ` 2 only’, said the boy. Mr Gupta was amazed. ‘How can you sell them for so less?’ he asked. ‘Today is Republic Day. Today, we are not doing business. We do that every other day. We are doing our bit for our country. The flags actually cost one rupee, so we are selling them at that rate’, the boy answered. Mr Gupta was taken aback. The poor, uneducated street boy valued his country more than he did. He felt terribly ashamed. 6) Why did Mr Gupta have to give his workers time off from work? Ans. 28
7) Why were the flags being sold at a cheaper rate? Ans. 8) Change the following sentences into negative sentences with opposite meanings. a) It was a national holiday. Ans. b) The boy was very poor. Ans. c) Mr Gupta was in a bad mood. Ans. 9) The antonym of ‘educated’ is . 10) Match the words with their correct meanings. Column A Column B a) annoyed A) c apable of being easily spread to other people b) infectious B) a sudden wish or desire c) whim C) slightly angry Reading Comprehension 4 29
9 Adverbs You have learnt about adverbs earlier. An adverb is a word that describes a verb, adjective or another adverb. There are different kinds of adverbs. Kinds of adverbs Adverbs of Adverbs of Adverbs of Adverbs of Adverbs of manner degree place time frequency Remember Adverbs are words that show how some actions are done. Adverbs also tell us when, where, why or how something happens. Adjectives and adverbs have a strong connection. Many adverbs are formed by adding ‘-ly’ to the ends of adjectives. Examples: Adjective Adverb Adjective Adverb most mostly smooth smoothly clear clearly real really We must remember that adjectives describe nouns or pronouns, whereas adverbs describe verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. 30
Adverbs of manner tell us the way in Adverbs of degree tell us the degree which something is done. They are or intensity of actions. They answer usually placed either after the main the question ‘how much?’ or ‘to what verb or after the object. Adverbs of extent?’. manner answer the question ‘how?’ or ‘in what manner?’. Examples: Examples: • She is extremely smart. • He swims well. • Your handwriting is hardly legible. • He picked up the books quickly. Adverbs of place tell us the place, location or direction of an action and answer the question ‘where?’. Examples: • I looked for my book everywhere. • They are playing here. Underline the adverbs of manner, degree and place in the given sentences. Write AM next to the sentences with adverbs of manner and AD next to those with adverbs of degree. Write AP next to the sentences that have adverbs of place. • He kicked the ball powerfully. • Your tablet is completely broken. • My uncle’s house is nearby. • We danced terribly at the party. • The balloons flew upwards. • Wait for me! I’ve almost reached. • The workshop was very good. • They took the guests inside. Here are a few common adverbs. Adverbs of manner Adverbs of degree Adverbs of place cheerfully joyfully extremely completely up down sadly tiredly very enough backwards away silently terribly quite almost around nearby Adverbs 31
Adverbs of manner Adverbs of degree Adverbs of place bravely hard nearly hardly here there fast well just too eastwards westwards happily carefully fairly rather inside outside Let us learn about adverbs of time and frequency. Adverbs of time Read the following sentences. Adverbs of time: They tell us when an action happened or for how long the action continued. I visited Goa last year. Goldilocks stayed at the They have lived in this (when) bears' house all day long. house since 1998. (how long) (how long) Here are some more examples: when? today, before, later, yesterday, tomorrow, last year, later, now, immediately how long? all day, a week, a month, two hours, a while Adverbs of time are usually placed at the ends of sentences. Examples: She has to leave now. We will call you later. We stayed in Mumbai for a week. I met an old friend yesterday. 32
Adverbs of frequency Adverbs of frequency: They tell us how often something occurs or somebody does something. In other words, they show routine or repeated activities. We always study after Rita is often late for work. I usually watch movies on class. Sundays. Adverbs of frequency can be arranged like this: always usually generally/normally often/frequently sometimes/ occasionally hardly ever / rarely / seldom never Adverbs of frequency are usually placed before the main verbs and after the helping verbs. Examples: My father rarely gets angry. I seldom eat junk food. We sometimes go out for movies. We are never late for rehearsals. (after the helping verb) Adverbs 33
Exercise 1: Find six adverbs of time in the word search. Use each adverb of time to form a meaningful sentence. One is done for you. month tomorrow now later tonight soon AFU WG I S Y EHKC MBD L L S GK E Y F HH F P L U CW S V A X N I C YMP DWK D Q L GVGB E RG AM U F I W T MO U Y L NCUWP H J H X WW Z O N B V Z B AWMO N T H T U P A T K V OQOW X E M NNV J L Y U Z I QD T S A U Y NWV F MO F OMV L F Z D X X F I QNO S E OY I Z K T A T R E CR Y A AO R S L Q X J RWN E R P G L AWM L A T E R F A A V J WQ U U GQ V L D R C U I U X Q E OG U X I L GF I OY R Z K E NA RMK L Z NHO X J N V F Y G X R T F F P L X R AWOO F D E J Y T M P F L OO Y B Y C T O RWU N O P T ON I GH T S RWY L L A U S OON Y R U MW S D N I O N T CV T X L R POY K Y WE E DR E V EW OBO B SMJ KQS RU GN T I AMVM MR S CB SNB FCZ JQF AHOR OA X V E O P A VW FZF IY RUV Z WDWM D GM R EG FNK OL T WY H Sentences: a) I will stay in Leh for a month. b) c) d) e) f) 34
Exercise 2: Complete the sentences with appropriate adverbs of frequency. Use the stars as hints. One is done for you. a) Alia never tells lies. b) I ________________ brush my teeth before going to bed. c) We ______________ eat Chinese food. d) My father ______________ cooks dinner on Fridays. e) They ______________ meet Asif, as he works abroad. f) I noticed you visiting the library ______________ this week. Exercise 3: Read the following passage and underline the adverbs. One is done for you. It was a cold and wintry night, and the wind blew gently. A ship was sailing westwards on the sea. There was a storm, and the passengers on deck were completely drenched in the heavy rain that beat upon them. They ran into their cabins immediately and started praying for the storm to calm down. They were scared, and they cried bitterly in desperation. In the morning, the floor of the ship developed cracks, and water started entering it. The passengers on board were rescued quickly before the ship sank. Adverbs 35
10 Prepositions Underline the prepositions in these sentences and write them against the correct descriptions in the table given below. • She was standing among a group of teenagers. • The Sun was shining above the mountains. • There was a photograph below the clock. • I ordered an iced tea with my pizza. • There is a house beside the lake. • Alka is travelling to Chennai. • Meet me at home. • She turned around when she heard her name. Preposition Description It means ‘so as to face in the opposite direction’. It means ‘lower than’. It means ‘in the direction of’. It means ‘to be along with or surrounded by others’. It means ‘along with’ or ‘being together’. It means ‘next to’. It means ‘higher than’. It points out a specific place. Remember Prepositions are words that link nouns, pronouns and phrases to the other words in a sentence. They show the position and give information about time, place and direction. 41
Let us learn a few new prepositions. Towards shows movement in the direction of a place or getting closer to someone or something. On hearing the knock, she Mira and Varun turned The boy and girl are walked towards the door. their faces towards the walking towards the camera. beach. Through means 'from one end or side of something to the other'. It also denotes 'from the start to the end'. The Thames river flows The boy cried through the Mita studied through the through London. movie. night. Across means 'from one side of something to the other'. I can see the police station They travelled across the They sailed across the sea. that is across the street. desert. 42
Exercise 1: Look at the picture and write true or false for each of the sentences given below it. One is done for you. a) The painting is hanging through the wall. – false b) The rat is running from the living room floor. – c) The table and chairs are beside the bunk bed. – d) The lamp is under the sofa. – e) The vase is on the chest of drawers. – f) The round table is between the two chairs. – Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the correct prepositions from the brackets. One is done for you. a) The bread is kept with (with/from) the cheese and the milk. b) She gets nervous ___________________________ (to/among) strangers. c) I will be walking ___________________________ (among/from) my home to school by myself. d) The bridge runs ___________________________ (across/through) the river. Prepositions 43
e) The aeroplane flew ___________________________ (below/over) the building. f) What have you put ___________________________ (in/over) the tea? Exercise 3: Look at the picture and make sentences based on the given prompts. Use different prepositions to link the given nouns. One is done for you. a) flowers vase : The flowers are in the vase. b) ball table : c) lamp vase : d) cat carpet : e) chair table : f) table ball : 44
R5 Reading Comprehension Passage 1 Read the passage and answer the questions given below. In the evening, the priest kept a light behind the curtain and stood there with his puppet. When he carefully moved the puppet behind the curtain, it cast a dancing shadow on the curtain that was clearly visible to the emperor on the other side. As the emperor sat in front of the curtain and watched the dancing shadow, he listened to the stories narrated by the priest. The stories were about the queen. They were simply magnificent and brought back many of the emperor’s wonderful memories. The emperor clapped his hands with joy and said, ‘I would like to watch the puppet show every evening. I am delighted.’ Every day, the emperor attended court, talked to his ministers and courtiers, and then watched the puppet show in the evening. He started taking great interest in his people. He built schools and hospitals in the name of the departed queen. He would also play with the children he visited in his schools. He felt very happy when crowds of people gathered around him and praised him wherever he went. They would cheerfully shout, ‘Hail the Emperor! Hail the mighty one!’ The priest told him one day, ‘Your Majesty, joys and sorrows are part of life. Whenever a person faces sorrow, they should always think of the good things and happy moments in life. These memories act as a source of joy that drives away all the sadness and cheers one up. They teach us to live happily and do good deeds to make others happy while remembering those who are no longer with us.’ The emperor smiled and nodded. ‘I thank you for guiding me with such wise words’, he said. 1) What stories did the priest narrate in the puppet show? Ans. 52
2) What did the emperor do before watching the puppet show every evening? Ans. 3) Write the adverb forms of the given words from the passage. a) simple – b) clear – c) careful – 4) The word from the passage whose homonym means ‘pellets of frozen rain’ is . 5) Match the words with their correct meanings. Column A Column B a) emperor A) dead b) magnificent B) king c) departed C) very impressive Passage 2 Read the passage and answer the questions given below. The Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex) lived in Laramidia, which is present-day western North America. It lived in the Upper Cretaceous Period, between 85–66 million years ago. The T-Rex was among the last non-flying dinosaurs. One of the largest land predators ever known, the T-Rex was nearly 40-feet long and 13-feet wide at the hips. It weighed four to seven tons! Scientists know from studying its fossils that the T-Rex had an enormous skull and a long, massive tail to support its weight. Despite its arms being relatively small, they were powerful, with two clawed digits (like fingers) at the end. The hind legs of the dinosaur were extensive and mighty. Reading Comprehension 5 53
The T-Rex possessed the most ferocious bite of any land animal on Earth. Its jaw was at least four-feet thick and contained 50–60 teeth, many of which were up to nine inches long. Its strong teeth could remove flesh from its prey and cut it in its mouth. 500 pounds of flesh and bone in one bite! Also, there were rotting bacteria between its teeth, giving it a ‘septic’ bite. If it wounded but failed to kill its prey, they would die of fatal infections anyway! In 1990, Sue Hendrickson, a famous fossil hunter, discovered the most complete fossil of a T-Rex skeleton ever found (85% complete). Eventually, it was sold to the Field Museum of Natural History for a whopping eight million dollars. The museum spent over 25,000 person-hours in removing rock from the bones. 6) What were the arms of the T-Rex like? Ans. 7) What did Sue Hendrickson do with the fossil of the T-Rex that she had found? Ans. 8) Find the plural forms of the given words from the passage. a) dinosaur – b) inch – c) tooth – 9) The meaning of the word ‘fatal’ is . 10) Match the words with their correct meanings. Column A Column B a) present-day A) very large b) septic B) the current period of time c) whopping C) infected with bacteria 54
11 Conjunctions There are three types of conjunctions. Conjunctions Coordinating Correlative Subordinating conjunctions conjunctions conjunctions Remember You have learnt that conjunctions are words that join words or parts of sentences together. Coordinating conjunctions connect two or more parts of speech in a sentence. They also connect two similar parts of a sentence. The coordinating conjunctions are as follows: Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join phrases or words that carry equal importance within a sentence. The correlative conjunctions you have learnt are ‘neither... nor’, either... or’ and ‘not only... but also’. Let us learn about the third type of conjunction: subordinating conjunctions. 55
Subordinating conjunctions These are words that connect two parts of a sentence that are not of equal importance. Some commonly used subordinating conjunctions are ‘when’, ‘because’, ‘until’, ‘than’, ‘while’, ‘though’, ‘after’, ‘before’, ‘if’, ‘as’ and ‘since’. Let us learn how to use two of them. Because joins two unequal parts where one part talks about a reason for an action. Example: • The boy was absent because he was ill. (The reason for the boy’s absence was illness.) More examples: • W e want to go to Ooty in the summer because • She didn’t swim the weather will be because she was pleasant then. afraid of water. Until means ‘up to a point in time or an event’. It joins two ideas or events. Example: • Let’s wait until the rain stops. (The speakers have decided to wait up to the point when it stops raining.) More examples: • Y ou can stay on this bus • You will not go until you reach out until you’ve Ajmer. finished this exercise. 56
Exercise 1: Join the sentences in Column A with the correct ones in Column B based on the coordinating conjunctions used. One is done for you. Column A Column B a) I’ll just have soup, E A) or the raspberry shake? b) Chetan is inside, B) so she walked fast. c) Jenny was getting late, C) but Ketan is outside. d) You get one choice. Do D) nor does she drive a you want the litchi shake car. e) Ajit won a gold medal, E) for I am not very hungry. f) A njali does not ride a F) a nd Farhan won a bicycle, bronze medal. Exercise 2: Choose the correct pairs of correlative conjunctions and fill in the blanks. One is done for you. neither... nor either... or not only... but also a) We can either go to the movies or to the park. Let us go to one of these places. b) Casey ___________________________ invited Carrie ___________________________ Jake to the party, as they are his best friends. c) I will eat ___________________________ peas ___________________________ carrots for dinner. Any one of them will be fine. d) ___________________________ the hens ___________________________ the ducks were stolen. These animals are still on the farm. e) ___________________________ will they paint the inside of their house ___________________________ the outside. They will paint the entire house. f) Nathan ___________________________ likes cheese ___________________________ cream. He dislikes them both. Conjunctions 57
Exercise 3: Fill in the blanks with the conjunctions from the box. One is done for you. until a) Sheela took medicine because she had a cold. b) J immy will support _______________________ Spain ___________________ Brazil in the football world cup. He has not made up his mind about which team he will support. c) The power went off, ________________________ I lit a candle. d) Ali will continue working here ____________________ he gets a better job. e) M y mother is _______________________ smart ______________________ hard working. She is very talented. f) Marie Curie won Nobel prizes in both Physics ____________________ Chemistry. 58
12 Sentences Let us revise the types of sentences we have learnt earlier. Declarative sentences Imperative sentences They are used to state information. These sentences give commands They are statements and end with a or make requests. Imperative full stop (.). sentences end with a full stop (.) or an exclamation mark (!). Interrogative sentences Exclamatory sentences These sentences ask questions and These sentences show excitement end with a question mark (?). or strong feelings. They end with an exclamation mark (!). We have also seen how sentences can be sorted as positive sentences and questions or negative sentences and questions. Examples: I want ice cream. Do you want ice cream? sentence POSITIVE question They are not going to the beach. Are they not going to the beach? sentence NEGATIVE question 65
Simple and compound sentences Read the following sentences: Poonam went to the The class was very quiet My friends came home to library. during the exam. see me. These are simple sentences. A simple sentence consists of a subject and a predicate. A simple sentence expresses a complete thought. A simple sentence can stand by itself as a complete sentence. Complete the following table by putting a tick if the sentences in the box above meet the given criteria. Sentence 1 Sentence 2 Sentence 3 There is a subject. There is a predicate. The sentence expresses a complete thought. Now, read the following sentences: Greta wanted to go on a Rina ate an ice cream, You can keep walking holiday, but her office was and Rahul had a pastry. around town, or you can very busy. take a shortcut. 66
These are compound sentences. A compound sentence has two or more simple (complete) sentences joined together using coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS: ‘for’, ‘and’, ‘nor’, ‘but’, ‘or’, ‘yet’, ‘so’). Put a comma before the coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. More examples: • S iya was happy, for she had received • T he tyre of Zara’s bicycle a letter from a friend. got punctured, so she borrowed her friend’s bicycle. • W e love each other, yet we fight • Rahul is not on the football team, a lot. but he is a part of the school choir. Exercise 1: Form compound sentences from the following simple sentences using ‘for’/‘and’/‘nor’/‘but’/‘or’/‘yet’/‘so’. One is done for you. a) Dolly did not understand the sum. She asked her brother. Ans. Dolly did not understand the sum, so she asked her brother. b) He woke up early. He did not reach school on time. Ans. c) We went to watch a movie. We did not like it. Ans. d) Maya plans to study further. She wants to qualify for a better job. Ans. e) Susan could sit at home and relax. She could go on a vacation. Ans. Sentences 67
f) Ankita goes to school by bus. Arnav goes to school on foot. Ans. Exercise 2: Make three simple and three compound sentences from the given images. One is done for you. Simple sentences a) Last Sunday, we baked many cakes. b) c) Compound sentences d) 68
e) f) Direct and indirect speech Your friend, Mira, tells you in school, ‘I am going to a play’. You come home and tell your mother what your friend told you. There are two ways in which you can tell your mother about this conversation. Mira said, ‘I am going to a play’. (direct speech) You repeated Mira’s words in exactly the way she said them. To show her exact words in writing, they are put in quotation marks: ‘…’ Mira said that she was going to a play. (indirect speech) Since Mira had spoken the words earlier, the tense and the pronoun change accordingly. (‘I am going’ changes to ‘she was going’.) The words spoken by Mira are not put in quotation marks for indirect speech. Sentences 69
Remember We use indirect speech or reported speech when we tell or report something that someone said. Here are a few examples: He said that they were We are going on a picnic. going on a picnic. I work at a hospital. She said that she worked at a hospital. Rules of indirect speech a) Reported speech is not enclosed in quotation marks. b) The word ‘that’ is used as a conjunction between the reporting verb and the reported speech. Example: • Adil said that he felt ill. reporting verb reported speech 70
Rules of indirect speech c) T he pronoun (subject) of the reported speech is changed according to the pronoun of the reporting verb or object (person). Look at the examples given on the previous page. ‘We’ has changed to ‘they’ and ‘I’ to ‘she’. Sometimes, the pronoun may not change at all. d) W hen the sentence within quotation marks is in the simple present tense, it changes to the simple past tense. Similarly, when the sentence within quotation marks is in the present continuous tense, it changes to the past continuous tense. Example: • She said, ‘I am going to Nagaland.’ S he said that she was going to Nagaland. Exercise 3: Write whether the following sentences are in direct or indirect speech. One is done for you. a) Veda told Marie that she was going to a movie with her parents. Ans. indirect speech b) ‘Can I come with you?’ Marie asked Veda. Ans. c) ‘Certainly, Marie! We’ll have a great time’, Veda answered happily. Ans. d) Marie paused and then said that she would ask her parents first. Ans. e) Veda replied that she would wait for her call. Ans. f) ‘I’ll call you as soon as I get their permission’, Marie promised her friend. Ans. Sentences 71
R6 Reading Comprehension Passage 1 Read the poem and answer the questions given below. A bird came down the walk, He did not know I saw. He bit an Angleworm in halves, And ate the fellow, raw. And then he drank a dew, From a convenient grass. And then hopped sidewise to the wall, To let a beetle pass. He glanced with rapid eyes, That hurried all around. They looked like frightened beads, I thought, He stirred his velvet head. Like one in danger, cautious, I offered him a crumb. And he unrolled his feathers, And rowed him softer home. Than oars divide the ocean, Too silver for a seam. Or butterflies, off banks of noon, Leap, plash-less as they swim. – Emily Dickinson 1) Why did the bird hop sidewise to the wall? Ans. 78
2) What does the poet compare the eyes of the bird to? Ans. 3) Underline the adjectives in the following phrases or sentences. a) He stirred his velvet head. b) From a convenient grass c) Too silver for a seam 4) The meaning of ‘stirred’ in the passage is . 5) Match the words with their correct meanings. Column A Column B a) dew A) very careful b) cautious B) tools used to row a boat c) oars C) tiny drops of water Passage 2 Read the passage and answer the questions given below. Edward Lear was an illustrator, landscape painter, author and poet. Lear is still remembered for his ‘nonsense poetry’ for children, known as ‘limericks’ today. Before Lear’s writings, most literature for children was filled with ‘common-sense’ instruction. For this reason, Edward Lear has become a truly evergreen author, fondly nicknamed as the ‘Father of Limericks’. Children were raised very strictly in the Victorian times, and their education excluded humour or laughter. So, imagine the sheer delight that the children must have felt upon reading Lear’s works, in which the most ridiculous and absurd situations were presented as rhymes! His rhymes were truly a much-needed source of entertainment and escape from the repressive Victorian society. Reading Comprehension 6 79
Despite being born and raised in England, Lear travelled abroad for most of his adult life. During his travels, he loved to draw animals and landscapes. He especially liked birds. Lear adored his friends and his dear cat named Sanreno. He eventually built the house of his dreams in Italy, where he passed away at the age of 75 in 1888. 6) What kind of children’s literature was common before the writings of Lear? Ans. 7) What did Lear love to do during his travels? Ans. 8) Convert these positive sentences into negative sentences. a) Lear travelled abroad for most of his adult life. Ans. b) Children were raised very strictly in the Victorian times. Ans. c) I am reading a poem by Lear. Ans. 9) The word from the passage that rhymes with the word ‘tense’ is . 10) Match the words with their correct meanings. Column A Column B a) illustrator A) strict and harsh b) evergreen B) a person who draws pictures for publications c) repressive C) forever remembered 80
13 Apostrophe A contraction is made by combining two words to make a single word. This makes saying these words easier. We make a contraction using the apostrophe. Example: aren't Let us read some more examples of contractions. Contractions with ‘is’, ‘am’ and ‘are’ she is = she’s he is = he’s why is = why’s how is = how’s I am = I’m they are = they’re you are = you’re we are = we’re Contractions formed with the words ‘will’, ‘has’, ‘had’ and ‘have’ I will = I’ll she will = she’ll he will = he’ll it will = it’ll they will = they’ll he has = he’s we have = we’ve they’d Contractions with the word ‘not’ is not = isn’t are not = aren’t has not = hasn’t have not = haven’t was not = wasn’t will not = won’t were not = weren’t do not = don’t does not = doesn’t did not = didn’t cannot = can’t could not = couldn’t Apostrophe for possession The apostrophe is also used to show belonging or possession (that something belongs to someone). We use the apostrophe with the letter ‘s’ to show possession. Examples: • The childs ball. incorrect • The child’s ball. correct The apostrophe has been used to show that the ball belongs to the child. 81
There are four main rules for adding apostrophes for possession. Let’s understand them. Rule 1 : If the noun is singular, add the apostrophe + ‘s’. Example : the cap of the bottle = the bottle’s cap Rule 2 : If the noun is plural, add the apostrophe + ‘s’. Example : writings of women = women’s writing Rule 3 : If the noun is singular and ends in ‘-s’, still add the apostrophe + ‘s’. Example : the wheel of the bus = the bus’s wheel Rule 4 : If the noun is plural and ends in ‘-s’, add just an apostrophe. Example : team of boys = boys’ team Look at the table below for more examples. singular nouns • The cow’s horns were sharp. plural nouns • Give me Raman’s address. singular nouns ending in ‘-s’ plural nouns ending in ‘-s’ • These are men’s clothing. • Are these children’s books? • That bus’s wheels were changed. • This is my boss’s cabin. • These are the pens’ lids. • Did you study at a girls’ school? Apostrophe with possessive pronouns Sometimes, we may get confused between contractions and possessive pronouns. Remember that possessive pronouns do not need apostrophes. Examples: Possessive pronouns Correct usage Incorrect usage Correct usage Incorrect usage yours your’s theirs their’s hers her’s mine mine’s its it’s ours ours’ or our’s 82
Look at the table below to understand some common apostrophe mistakes. Expanded form could not couldn’t could n’t does not doesn’t does’nt cannot can’t cann’t they are they’re theyr’e Difference between plurals, possessives and contractions Remember The plural form of a word shows that there is ‘more than one’ of something. Example: • The candies were tasty. A possessive noun or pronoun says ‘who or what owns or has something’. Example: • The candy’s wrapper is on the floor. Contractions are words made by combining two words and leaving out one or more letters. The apostrophe takes the place of the removed letters. Example: • Weren’t you given any candy? Exercise 1: Read the given sentences and replace the underlined words with contractions. One is done for you. a) There is nobody in the room. Ans. There’s nobody in the room. b) It is a brand new car. Ans. c) Ronny will not come to school today. Ans. d) I should not eat junk food. Ans. Apostrophe 83
e) Nisha could have reached the station on time. Ans. f) He is sure about the answer. Ans. Exercise 2: Rewrite each sentence by adding the apostrophe to show ownership or contractions wherever required. One is done for you. a) Were going to watch the new movie tomorrow. Ans. We’re going to watch the new movie tomorrow. b) Adeles voice is so melodious! Ans. c) Theyll get us a new doormat. Ans. d) That babys got brown eyes. Ans. e) Everyone ate up Anjalis chips. Ans. f) Janiss project isnt finished yet. Ans. Exercise 3: Rewrite the sentences by correcting the apostrophe usage. One is done for you. (Hint: The apostrophe may not be needed in a few places.) a) Iv’e been to that park before. Ans. I’ve been to that park before. 84
b) The blue pencil box is her’s. Ans. c) They shouldv’e taken umbrellas with them. Ans. d) Jamess’ house is one kilometre away from mine. Ans. e) This is the ladie’s washroom. Ans. f) My sisters’ dress is yellow. She likes that. Ans. Apostrophe 85
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