EN हिं

NCERT Solutions for Class 4th English Chapter 2 What would you do in the following situations? — Let us Speak

Book page 18–19 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
What would you do in the following situations?
1. You borrowed your friend's favorite pen. After using it, you accidentally broke it. What would you do?
Answer

This is a speaking task. You say your answer aloud in class. There is no single right answer, but a good answer always has these three parts.

  1. Tell the truth at once. Do not hide the pen or keep quiet about it.
  2. Say sorry and say that it was an accident.
  3. Put it right. Offer to repair it or to give a new pen.
Sample answer: I would go to my friend the same day and say, “I am very sorry. Your pen broke while I was writing. It was an accident.” Then I would ask my mother for money and buy him a new pen of the same kind.
Why telling the truth is better: If I hide it, my friend will find out later and will also feel cheated. If I tell him now, he may be upset for a little while, but he will still trust me. Trust is harder to mend than a pen.
Link to the story: Chinna could have kept quiet about the extra ten rupees too. He chose to speak. It made him feel light, and the fruit seller called him honest.
Q2.
What would you do in the following situations?
2. During a math quiz, your friends ask you to show them your answers because they didn’t study. If you don’t help, your friends might get upset with you. What would you do?
Answer

This one is hard, because both choices feel bad. Say so in your answer — then say what you would choose.

What a good answer must contain:

  • a clear no to showing answers during the quiz;
  • a reason a nine-year-old can say in one line;
  • a kind offer for afterwards, so the friendship is not lost.
Sample answer: I would say, “Sorry, I cannot show you my answers now. That is cheating, and both of us can get into trouble.” After the quiz I would say, “Come to my house in the evening. We will study the next chapter together, so this will not happen again.”
Why saying no is the right answer here: Showing answers in a quiz is a kind of stealing — it takes marks that were not earned. It also does not help my friend at all. He still will not know the maths tomorrow. Helping him study later helps him for the whole year.
If your friends still get upset: Say plainly, “I am your friend, and that is why I will help you learn, not help you cheat.” A real friend understands this, maybe not the same day, but soon.
Q3.
What would you do in the following situations?
3. You see a classmate taking a notebook from the teacher's desk without permission. The classmate tells you not to tell anyone. What would you do?
Answer

Start with the person, not with the teacher. That is the kindest way to make the wrong thing right.

Steps a good answer follows:

  1. Talk to the classmate first. Say quietly, “Please put it back. It is not yours.”
  2. Give one clear reason. Taking something without asking is stealing, even if it is only a notebook.
  3. If the classmate puts it back, the matter can end there.
  4. If the classmate refuses, tell the teacher. Keeping quiet would make me a part of the wrong thing.
Sample answer: I would take my classmate aside and say, “Please keep the notebook back. If you need one, ask the teacher — she will give you one.” If she still refuses, I would tell my teacher, because keeping quiet is not being a good friend.
Why telling is not being a tell-tale: A tell-tale reports a friend to get him into trouble. Here the aim is different — it is to stop the wrong thing and to protect the friend from doing something worse. Ask your friend first; that is what makes the difference.
Talk about it in class: Not everybody will agree here, and that is fine. Listen to what the others say before you decide your own answer.
Q4.
What would you do in the following situations?
4. You bring your favourite snack to school. But you find that your classmate has not brought anything to eat. You really want to enjoy the snack alone. What would you do?
Answer

Say honestly that a part of you wants to keep it all, and then say what you would actually do.

What a good answer must contain:

  • the honest feeling — it is hard to share a favourite snack;
  • what you would do — share it, even if only half;
  • why it feels better afterwards.
Sample answer: My favourite snack is poha, and I really wanted to eat it all. But my classmate had nothing, and I could not eat in front of her. I would put half in the lid of my box and give it to her. Then we would eat together and talk. The poha would taste even better that way.
Why sharing feels better: Eating alone while a friend watches is not really enjoyable. Half a snack with a happy friend beside you is worth more than a full snack eaten quietly.
Try this too: Tell your teacher gently that your classmate has no lunch. Many schools can arrange something. Sharing today is good; making sure she is not hungry tomorrow is even better.
Was this helpful?