NCERT Solutions for Class 9th English Chapter 2 The Pot Maker (prose) — Vocabulary and Structures in Context

Book page 45–48 Updated on2026-09-08

Q1.

I. Read the highlighted words in the following sentences from the text. 1. She taught Sentila how to dig the clay with dao, load it on to her carrying basket… 2. Sentila was a quick learner and turned the clay into malleable dough. Pounding the stubborn clay inside bamboo cylinders to soften it … The highlighted words describe the tools and materials required in the process of pot making. Now, classify the words/phrases given in the box as shown in the table below. One example for each category has been done for you. Box: dao dough pounding bamboo clay kiln spatula basket cylinders rotating bed of hay shaping (Table columns: Tools/Implements — dao ; Raw Materials — dough ; Process — pounding)

Answer

Tools/Implements	Raw Materials	Process
dao (given)	dough (given)	pounding (given)
spatula	clay	rotating
basket	bamboo	shaping
cylinders	bed of hay	kiln (the firing stage)

How each one was decided, from the text:

spatula — “a spatula held in the right hand”; the book itself glosses it as a “tool used by a potter to shape a pot”.
basket — “load it on to her carrying basket”: it carries the dug clay, so it is an implement, not a material.
cylinders — “Pounding the stubborn clay inside bamboo cylinders”: the cylinder is the container the pounding is done in.
clay and dough — the substance the pot is made of, before and after pounding.
bamboo and bed of hay — “on a bed of hay and dried bamboo”: fuel and packing for the kiln, so raw materials.
rotating and shaping — both name actions: “they rotated the lump… giving shape to the rotating clay”.

The one debatable word is ‘kiln’. There are twelve words and twelve cells, four to a column. ‘Kiln’ is the only word left over, and it fits Process best if you read it as the firing stage — “then the kiln would be fired… over firing or under firing would ruin the entire batch.” If your teacher places the kiln under Tools/Implements (it is a structure the potter uses), that column will hold five words and Process only three. Either grouping is acceptable so long as you can justify it from the text.

Q2.

II. Notice the use of the following words in the text. pittance rupees reward return These words relate to livelihood and economic aspects that are crucial for any enterprise/business/vocation. Work in pairs and find the meanings of the following words related to economy. You may refer to a dictionary. bankrupt credit currency debt fiscal inflation investment interest Now, frame sentences using each word.

Answer

Word	Meaning	Sentence
bankrupt	declared by a court to be unable to pay what one owes	The mill went bankrupt after two seasons without orders.
credit	money lent, or the arrangement of buying now and paying later	The potter buys his firewood on credit and settles the bill after the sale.
currency	the money in use in a particular country	The rupee is the currency of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka alike, though each is different.
debt	a sum of money that one owes	She cleared the last of her debt with the money from the shawl she wove.
fiscal	connected with government money — revenue, taxes and public spending	Our fiscal year runs from April to March.
inflation	a general rise in prices, so that money buys less than before	Inflation had doubled the cost of clay by the time the pots were sold.
investment	money or effort put into something in order to earn a return later	Buying a new loom was the biggest investment the family had ever made.
interest	the extra money paid for the use of borrowed money	The bank charges nine per cent interest on a small-business loan.

Why the chapter teaches these words here: Arenla’s whole argument is an economic one. She weighs the input (sixteen kilometres, months of labour) against the return (“a few rupees”), and concludes that the craft does not pay. In the language of these words: her investment is large and her return is a pittance. Notice that ‘return’ and ‘reward’ mean almost the same thing in her speech, but ‘reward’ carries a promise of fairness — which is exactly why the question mark after it stings.

Q3.

III. Read the following sentences from the text. The main clause has been underlined and the subordinate clause has been circled. • … she realised that the pot was ready. • She intuitively sensed that something momentous had happened. Subordinate clauses that act like nouns and perform the same functions as subject or object are called noun clauses. 1. Complete the following sentences with suitable noun clauses. (i) The elders emphasised that ______________________. (ii) Mesoba explained why ______________________. (iii) Onula’s promise was that ______________________. (iv) Sentila observed her mother carefully when she was shaping the mouth of the pot, which ______________________. (v) The kiln, where ______________________, required careful attention to prevent over-or-under firing.

Answer

Model completions (many wordings are possible; what must not change is the kind of clause each blank needs):

(i) The elders emphasised that a skill handed down from generation to generation did not belong to any individual. Noun clause, object of ‘emphasised’.
(ii) Mesoba explained why Arenla had not yet begun teaching their daughter pot making. Noun clause, object of ‘explained’.
(iii) Onula’s promise was that she would teach Sentila how to make a perfect pot. Noun clause, subject complement after ‘was’.
(iv) …which helped her see how the rim was formed. Relative (adjectival) clause describing the act of observing.
(v) The kiln, where the pots were stacked on a bed of hay and dried bamboo and then fired, required careful attention… Relative clause describing ‘the kiln’.

How to test whether your clause is really a noun clause: replace the whole clause with the word ‘something’. “The elders emphasised something” still works, so the clause is doing a noun’s job. Try it on (v): “The kiln, something, required careful attention” — it collapses, because that clause is describing the kiln, not naming a thing. So (iv) and (v) are in fact relative clauses, even though they are printed under the noun-clause exercise. Recognising the difference is the real skill being tested; the book returns to relative clauses in the very next item.

Q4.

III. 2. Read the following sentences from the text. Underline the main clause and circle the subordinate clause. (i) Arenla took Sentila to the riverbank where the grey and red clay was found. (ii) She started on the next one, and like a sprinter who had suddenly found momentum... (iii) … skills such as pot making, which not only catered to the needs of the people...

Answer

No.	Main clause (underline)	Subordinate clause (circle)	Type
(i)	Arenla took Sentila to the riverbank	where the grey and red clay was found	Relative clause describing riverbank
(ii)	She started on the next one	who had suddenly found momentum	Relative clause describing a sprinter
(iii)	skills such as pot making … [did not ‘belong’ to any individual]	which not only catered to the needs of the people	Relative clause describing skills

Two things to be careful about. In (ii), “like a sprinter” is only a phrase — it has no verb of its own, so it cannot be the subordinate clause; the clause is the part beginning with who. In (iii) the book quotes a fragment: the main clause finishes further along in the original sentence (“…did not ‘belong’ to any individual”), so you have to look back at page 36 to complete it.

Tip: Find the relative pronoun first — who, which, whose, that, where, when. The clause it introduces is the subordinate one; whatever is left standing on its own is the main clause. A main clause must make complete sense by itself: “Arenla took Sentila to the riverbank” does; “where the grey and red clay was found” does not.

Q5.

III. 3. Complete the following sentences with suitable relative clauses. (i) Sentila, whose ______________, practised the craft diligently. (ii) The village council, where ____________, sought an explanation for Arenla’s reluctance. (iii) The potter’s hands, which _____________, shaped the clay into beautiful creations. (iv) Arenla, her mother, wanted her to learn weaving, which ______________________. (v) Mesoba went home and discussed the matter with Arenla, who _____________.

Answer

(i) Sentila, whose dream had been to become a pot maker like her mother and grandmother, practised the craft diligently.
(ii) The village council, where the elders of the village met to settle such matters, sought an explanation for Arenla’s reluctance.
(iii) The potter’s hands, which moved with practised dexterity over the turning lump, shaped the clay into beautiful creations.
(iv) Arenla, her mother, wanted her to learn weaving, which brought a handsome return and could be done indoors in all seasons.
(v) Mesoba went home and discussed the matter with Arenla, who had so far refused to teach their daughter the family skill.

Choose the relative pronoun by what it points back to: whose for possession (Sentila’s dream), where for a place (the council), which for a thing or an idea (hands, weaving), who for a person (Arenla). Note that in (iv) ‘which’ refers to the whole idea of weaving, not to a single noun — that is a perfectly correct use, and a useful one in longer sentences.

Check it yourself: a relative clause set between commas can be lifted out and the sentence must still stand. “Sentila practised the craft diligently” — it stands. If removing your clause breaks the sentence, you have written something else.

Q6.

III. 4. Read the highlighted words in the following lines from the text. • Onula saw her taking out some clay… • … make as many pots as they could. • … did not belong to any individual. • Slowly she walked away from this place of wonder. • … they would not have enough days of sunshine … The highlighted words are determiners. Determiners are words that come before nouns and specify something about their quantity, definiteness, or ownership. Here is a list of the most frequently used determiners — • a, an, the (Articles) • this, that, these, those (Demonstratives) • my, our, your, his, her, its, their, one’s (Possessives) • one, two, three, etc. (Definite numerals) • some, any, no, all, both, much, many, few, less, several, little (Indefinite numerals) • each, every, either, neither (Distributives) (i) Find out some more determiners from the text.

Answer

Type	Determiner	Where it appears in ‘The Pot Maker’
Article	the, a	“the riverbank”, “a shapeless lump”
Possessive	her, my, his, their, our	“her carrying basket”; “my back aches”; “his daughter’s visits”; “their left hand”; “our daughter”
Demonstrative	this, those, that	“this place of wonder”; “Those who heard her”; “that batch”
Definite numeral	sixteen, one, two, three	“sixteen kilometres from here”; “two or three days”; “one night”
Indefinite numeral	many, few, all, much, no, another, several	“So many times”; “A few rupees”; “all pot makers”; “much more money”; “no expert potters”; “another layer”
Distributive	every, each	“in every possible way”; “each one” (poem)

Tip: A determiner always has a noun somewhere after it. That is how you tell the determiner ‘this’ in “this place of wonder” from the pronoun ‘this’ in “this is wonderful”. Test any word you are unsure of by asking: this what? If there is an answer, it is a determiner.

Q7.

III. 4. (ii) Fill in the banks with suitable determiners. The first two blanks have been done for you. A. The florist arranged five bouquets for her clients, that were displayed in ____________ elegant floral shop. B. The carpenter crafted ____________ unique tables, and _____________________ became the centrepiece in ____________________ furniture collection. C. ____________ of ____________ apprentices in ____________ culinary class demonstrated ____________ knife skills during the intense cooking session. D. ____________ of ____________ sculptures were displayed at _______________ art exhibition, showcasing ___________ diverse artistic skills.

Answer

(‘The first two blanks have been done for you’ refers to five and her already printed in sentence A — a definite numeral and a possessive.)

	Completed sentence	Determiners used
A	The florist arranged five bouquets for her clients, that were displayed in her elegant floral shop.	possessive
B	The carpenter crafted several unique tables, and each became the centrepiece in his furniture collection.	indefinite numeral, distributive, possessive
C	Each of the apprentices in that culinary class demonstrated their knife skills during the intense cooking session.	distributive, article, demonstrative, possessive
D	All of these sculptures were displayed at the art exhibition, showcasing their diverse artistic skills.	indefinite numeral, demonstrative, article, possessive

Two rules that decide these blanks:
1. ‘…of…’ needs a definite noun after it. You may say “each of the apprentices” or “all of these sculptures”, but never “each of apprentices”. The second blank in C and D must therefore be an article, a demonstrative or a possessive.
2. Make the verb agree. In D the verb is “were displayed”, so the subject must be plural — all, many, some, both will fit; each or every will not, since they take a singular verb. In B the verb is “became” (singular), which is why each works there.

Other correct answers: B could take two … both … his; C could take Every … the … the … their; D could take Many … his … an … his. Mark yourself right if your determiner belongs to a listed type, fits the meaning, and agrees with the verb.

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