NCERT Solutions for Class 9th English Chapter 1 How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (prose) — Vocabulary and Structures in Context

Book page 13–16 Updated on2026-09-08

Q1.

I. The expression ‘hide and seek’ is used in the text. This is called a binomial. Binomials are expressions consisting of two words, usually linked by a conjunction like ‘and’ or ‘or’, that are commonly used together in a fixed order. For example: odds and ends, right or wrong. Match the binomials in Column 1 with their meanings in Column 2. You may refer to a dictionary. Column 1: 1. sink or swim 2. on and off 3. mix and match 4. all or nothing 5. part and parcel 6. pick and choose 7. sooner or later 8. leaps and bounds Column 2: (i) put different things together to get a range of possibilities (ii) complete part of or belong to (iii) choose only the best (things, people, etc.) (iv) at sometime in the future (v) sometimes, occasionally (vi) increase or develop very quickly (vii) succeed or fail without help (viii) something to be done completely or not at all Now, use any five of the above binomials in sentences of your own.

Answer

Binomial	Meaning	How to remember it
1. sink or swim	(vii) succeed or fail without help	A person thrown into water with nobody to hold him — only two outcomes, and both are his own.
2. on and off	(v) sometimes, occasionally	Like a switch that keeps being turned on and then off — the thing happens in patches, not steadily.
3. mix and match	(i) put different things together to get a range of possibilities	Three shirts and three trousers give nine outfits — you mix, then match.
4. all or nothing	(viii) something to be done completely or not at all	No middle position is allowed.
5. part and parcel	(ii) complete part of or belong to	Not an extra that can be removed — it comes inside the parcel.
6. pick and choose	(iii) choose only the best (things, people, etc.)	Two words for choosing, doubled, to suggest choosing very selectively.
7. sooner or later	(iv) at sometime in the future	The time is unknown; only the certainty is being stated.
8. leaps and bounds	(vi) increase or develop very quickly	Not steps — jumps.

Five sentences of my own:

The coach gave us no instructions before the final — it was sink or swim.
My grandfather still plays the harmonium on and off, usually on Sunday mornings.
With four kurtas and three dupattas she could mix and match an outfit for every day of the week.
Missing the bus is part and parcel of living at the far end of the route.
Since the new library opened, his reading has improved by leaps and bounds.

Tip: The order inside a binomial is fixed by habit, not by logic. English says hide and seek, never “seek and hide”; odds and ends, never “ends and odds”. If you reverse the order, the phrase stops sounding like English even though the meaning is unchanged.

Q2.

II. Read the following words from the text given in the box below. unhappy unusual unfortunately irrespective independent These words are made by adding suitable prefixes (‘un’, ‘ir’, and ‘in’) to give an opposite or negative meaning to the words. Now, make words by adding the suitable prefixes given in the box to the words from the text in Column 1. Write the prefixed words in Column 2. One example has been done for you. Prefixes available: un im dis in mis extra 1. popular 2. belief 3. important 4. respect 5. correct 6. continue 7. understand 8. ordinary 9. interesting 10. possible

Answer

Column 1	Column 2	Meaning of the new word
1. popular	(i) unpopular (given)	not liked by many people
2. belief	(ii) disbelief	the refusal or inability to believe something
3. important	(iii) unimportant	of no importance
4. respect	(iv) disrespect	lack of respect
5. correct	(v) incorrect	wrong
6. continue	(vi) discontinue	to stop doing or providing something
7. understand	(vii) misunderstand	to understand wrongly
8. ordinary	(viii) extraordinary	far beyond the ordinary; remarkable
9. interesting	(ix) uninteresting	dull
10. possible	(x) impossible	not able to happen

Why these particular prefixes: not all of them mean the same thing.

un-, in-, im-, ir- simply negate: unhappy, incorrect, impossible, irrespective.
im- is used before p, b, m (impossible, imbalance, immature) and ir- before r (irrespective, irregular) — they are just in- reshaped to suit the next sound.
dis- often means removal or reversal of an action or state: discontinue, disrespect, disbelief.
mis- means wrongly, not “not”: misunderstand is not the absence of understanding but faulty understanding.
extra- is not a negative at all — it means beyond: extraordinary, extra-curricular. Watch this one; it is the trap in the list.

Q3.

III. Identify any five words with prefixes from the story and make sentences using each.

Answer

Word from the story	Prefix + root	Where it occurs	My own sentence
unfortunately	un + fortunate (+ ly)	“Unfortunately for Kannada literature, she died very young.”	Unfortunately, the last bus had already left when we reached the stand.
unhappy	un + happy	“It was unhappy and her eyes were filled with tears.”	He looked unhappy about the change in the team list.
unusual	un + usual	“Then she did something unusual.”	Rain in December is unusual in our district.
independent	in + dependent	“Now I am independent.”	Once she learnt to cycle, she was independent of everyone for the school run.
irrespective	ir + respective	“a teacher should be respected, irrespective of the gender and age”	The library is open to everyone irrespective of which class they are in.

Check it yourself: a prefix must leave a real word behind when you remove it. Unhappy minus un- gives happy, so the prefix is genuine. But immensely minus im- gives “mensely”, which is not a word — so the im there is not the negative prefix at all, even though it looks like one.

Q4.

IV. In the sentence, “I knew, then, that my student had passed with flying colours”, the phrase “passed with flying colours” is an idiom. It means outstanding performance. Now, match the idioms related to ‘learning’ given in Column 1 with their meanings in Column 2. You may refer to a dictionary. Column 1: 1. to hit the books 2. to draw a blank 3. to learn the ropes 4. to rack one’s brain 5. to learn by heart 6. burn the midnight oil Column 2: (i) to memorise something (ii) to think very hard (iii) to study seriously (iv) to study or work late into the night (v) to be unable to remember (vi) to understand how to do an activity Now, use these idioms in sentences of your own.

Answer

Idiom	Meaning	My own sentence
1. to hit the books	(iii) to study seriously	After the half-yearly results, Rohit decided to hit the books every evening.
2. to draw a blank	(v) to be unable to remember	I knew the poet’s name at home, but in the exam hall I drew a blank.
3. to learn the ropes	(vi) to understand how to do an activity	It took her a fortnight in the school library to learn the ropes of the cataloguing system.
4. to rack one’s brain	(ii) to think very hard	We racked our brains for an hour before spotting the mistake in the last step.
5. to learn by heart	(i) to memorise something	My grandmother had learnt the whole of Kashi Yatre by heart simply by listening to it.
6. burn the midnight oil	(iv) to study or work late into the night	The whole team burnt the midnight oil to finish the science model before the exhibition.

Where the images come from: Burn the midnight oil is older than electricity — it means keeping an oil lamp alight past midnight. Learn the ropes comes from sailing ships, where a new sailor first had to learn which rope controlled which sail. Rack one’s brain comes from the rack, a machine that stretched a body — the mind is being stretched to its limit. Knowing the picture inside an idiom is the surest way to remember its meaning.

Did you know? Item 5 is not a hypothetical for this story. The narrator says of her grandmother, “Later, she could repeat the entire text by heart” — she had learnt the serial by heart long before she could read a single letter of it.

Q5.

V. Read the following sentences from the text and underline the verbs. 1. Secretly, I bought Kashi Yatre which had been published as a novel by that time. 2. I knew, then, that my student had passed with flying colours.

Answer

Sentence	Verbs	Tense	Which action came first
1. Secretly, I bought Kashi Yatre which had been published as a novel by that time.	bought / had been published	simple past / past perfect (passive)	The publishing came first; the buying came later.
2. I knew, then, that my student had passed with flying colours.	knew / had passed	simple past / past perfect	The grandmother passed first; the narrator realised it a moment later.

Why English needs two past tenses here: both actions are over, but they did not happen at the same moment. The simple past marks the recent past — the action the story has reached. The past perfect (had + past participle) marks the earlier past — something already finished before that moment. Take away the past perfect in sentence 1 and you get “I bought Kashi Yatre which was published as a novel by that time”, which loses the fact that the novel already existed on the shelf, waiting, before she went to buy it.

Q6.

V. (i) Fill in the blanks with simple past and past perfect tense form of the verbs given in brackets. A. When the delegates ________ (arrive) at the conference, the keynote speaker ________ (already begin) the session. B. After the students ________ (learn) how to identify fake news online, they ________ (start) verifying information before sharing it. C. Before Kiran ________ (start) using digital payment platforms, she ________ (ensure) her understanding of online fraud prevention. D. By the time Varun ________ (recognise) the importance of budgeting, he ________ (exhaust) most of his savings. E. When Raghu ________ (log in) to the cybersecurity webinar, the instructor ________ (already discuss) the importance of strong passwords.

Answer

No.	Completed sentence	Why that pair
A	When the delegates arrived at the conference, the keynote speaker had already begun the session.	The speaker began before they walked in — so his action takes the past perfect. Already is a signal word for it.
B	After the students had learnt how to identify fake news online, they started verifying information before sharing it.	After puts the learning first; the verifying follows, so the verifying is the simple past.
C	Before Kiran started using digital payment platforms, she had ensured her understanding of online fraud prevention.	Before reverses the order of A and B: the clause after before is the later action, so the other verb takes the past perfect.
D	By the time Varun recognised the importance of budgeting, he had exhausted most of his savings.	By the time always marks the moment things had already reached — the damage was complete before the realisation.
E	When Raghu logged in to the cybersecurity webinar, the instructor had already discussed the importance of strong passwords.	Same shape as A: he missed a part that was over before he arrived.

Tip — the one rule that decides all five: find which action finished first, and give that one had + past participle. The connector tells you where to look: after and by the time point backwards to the earlier action, before points forwards to the later one, and when can do either — so read the sense.

Q7.

V. (ii) Fill in the blanks with the correct form of verbs given in brackets. Last year, my parents and I A. ________ (take) a financial planning course. When we B. ________ (review) our expenses, we realised we C. ________ (spend) too much on unnecessary purchases. After my parents D. ________ (discuss) ways to save, I E. ________ (open) a savings account. By the time we F. ________ (set) our budget, the course G. ________ (already introduce) investment strategies. We H. ________ (hurry) to take notes, but many participants I. ________ (complete) their financial plans. Despite that, we J. ________ (enjoy) learning how to manage money wisely.

Answer

The completed passage, with the two tenses marked:

Last year, my parents and I A. took a financial planning course.
When we B. reviewed our expenses, we realised we C. had spent too much on unnecessary purchases.
After my parents D. had discussed ways to save, I E. opened a savings account.

By the time we F. set our budget, the course G. had already introduced investment strategies.
We H. hurried to take notes, but many participants I. had completed their financial plans.
Despite that, we J. enjoyed learning how to manage money wisely.

Blank	Form	Reason
A	took	Simple past — “last year” is a finished time, and this is the first event of the story.
B	reviewed	Simple past — the moment the narrative has reached.
C	had spent	Past perfect — the overspending was already over before the review revealed it.
D	had discussed	Past perfect after after — the discussion came first.
E	opened	Simple past — the later action, the result of the discussion.
F	set	Simple past (set is unchanged in the past) — the reference moment marked by by the time.
G	had already introduced	Past perfect — the course had done this before the budget was set; already confirms it.
H	hurried	Simple past — an action at the same moment as the narrative.
I	had completed	Past perfect — the contrast with but only works if the others had finished earlier.
J	enjoyed	Simple past — the closing comment on the whole finished experience.

Why set and not “had set”: the phrase by the time names the point of reference. The verb inside that phrase is the reference itself, so it stays in the simple past; the verb in the main clause is the one that had already happened, and it takes the past perfect. Compare item D in the previous exercise — the same pattern, the same reason.

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