NCERT Solutions for Class 4th English Chapter 6 C. Read the following sentences and notice the underlined words. Change the present into the past. — Let us Write

Book page 61–62 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.

C. Read the following sentences and notice the underlined words.
The following sentences describe actions in the present. Change them to the past as shown in the examples.

Present	Past
I am sleeping.	I was sleeping.
The dogs are barking at the stranger.
Grandfather is searching for his spectacles.
Sheeba is writing a letter.
He is singing a song.
We are playing kho-kho.
The man is using his hands to push his wheelchair.

The table as your book prints it. The first row is filled in for you.

1. The dogs are barking at the stranger.

Answer

The dogs were barking at the stranger.

The rule the book gives (page 61): These sentences are about something that started in the past and went on for some time. If the sentence is about one person, animal or bird, we use was + action word + ing. If it is about more than one, we use were + action word + ing. The –ing word itself never changes.

Why were: The sentence is about dogs — more than one. For more than one we use were. The action word stays the same: barking.

are barking → were barking
were + bark + ing

Tip: Look at the present sentence first. If it says are, the past will be were. If it says is or am, the past will be was. That is the quickest check.

A sentence of your own: The birds were singing outside my window.

Q2.

C. Read the following sentences and notice the underlined words.
The following sentences describe actions in the present. Change them to the past as shown in the examples.

Present	Past
I am sleeping.	I was sleeping.
The dogs are barking at the stranger.
Grandfather is searching for his spectacles.
Sheeba is writing a letter.
He is singing a song.
We are playing kho-kho.
The man is using his hands to push his wheelchair.

The table as your book prints it. The first row is filled in for you.

2. Grandfather is searching for his spectacles.

Answer

Grandfather was searching for his spectacles.

Why was: The sentence is about one person — Grandfather. So we use was + searching.

is searching → was searching

What this tense tells us: He did not look once and stop. He went on looking for some time. That is why we use was searching and not searched.

A sentence of your own: My sister was searching for her water bottle.

Q3.

C. Read the following sentences and notice the underlined words.
The following sentences describe actions in the present. Change them to the past as shown in the examples.

Present	Past
I am sleeping.	I was sleeping.
The dogs are barking at the stranger.
Grandfather is searching for his spectacles.
Sheeba is writing a letter.
He is singing a song.
We are playing kho-kho.
The man is using his hands to push his wheelchair.

The table as your book prints it. The first row is filled in for you.

3. Sheeba is writing a letter.

Answer

Sheeba was writing a letter.

Why was: Sheeba is one person, so the word is was. The action word writing does not change.

is writing → was writing

Tip about spelling: write drops its e before –ing — writ + ing = writing. The same happens in make → making and come → coming.

A sentence of your own: Meera was writing her name on the cover.

Q4.

C. Read the following sentences and notice the underlined words.
The following sentences describe actions in the present. Change them to the past as shown in the examples.

Present	Past
I am sleeping.	I was sleeping.
The dogs are barking at the stranger.
Grandfather is searching for his spectacles.
Sheeba is writing a letter.
He is singing a song.
We are playing kho-kho.
The man is using his hands to push his wheelchair.

The table as your book prints it. The first row is filled in for you.

4. He is singing a song.

Answer

He was singing a song.

Why was: He means one person. One person takes was.

is singing → was singing

Check it yourself: Change He to They and the sentence becomes “They were singing a song.” The number of people decides between was and were.

A sentence of your own: My friend was singing on the school stage.

Q5.

C. Read the following sentences and notice the underlined words.
The following sentences describe actions in the present. Change them to the past as shown in the examples.

Present	Past
I am sleeping.	I was sleeping.
The dogs are barking at the stranger.
Grandfather is searching for his spectacles.
Sheeba is writing a letter.
He is singing a song.
We are playing kho-kho.
The man is using his hands to push his wheelchair.

The table as your book prints it. The first row is filled in for you.

5. We are playing kho-kho.

Answer

We were playing kho-kho.

Why were: We always means more than one person, so it takes were.

are playing → were playing

A small point to remember: I is the odd one out. I is only one person, so we say I was playing. But we, you and they all take were.

A sentence of your own: We were playing kabaddi in the ground.

Q6.

C. Read the following sentences and notice the underlined words.
The following sentences describe actions in the present. Change them to the past as shown in the examples.

Present	Past
I am sleeping.	I was sleeping.
The dogs are barking at the stranger.
Grandfather is searching for his spectacles.
Sheeba is writing a letter.
He is singing a song.
We are playing kho-kho.
The man is using his hands to push his wheelchair.

The table as your book prints it. The first row is filled in for you.

6. The man is using his hands to push his wheelchair.

Answer

The man was using his hands to push his wheelchair.

Why was: The sentence is about the man — one person. So was + using.

is using → was using

Here is the whole table, completed:

Present	Past
I am sleeping.	I was sleeping.
The dogs are barking at the stranger.	The dogs were barking at the stranger.
Grandfather is searching for his spectacles.	Grandfather was searching for his spectacles.
Sheeba is writing a letter.	Sheeba was writing a letter.
He is singing a song.	He was singing a song.
We are playing kho-kho.	We were playing kho-kho.
The man is using his hands to push his wheelchair.	The man was using his hands to push his wheelchair.

Tip about spelling: use also drops its e — us + ing = using.

Words that tell you it is the past: The Note to the Teacher on page 62 points to words like long ago, yesterday and last night. When you see one of those in a sentence, the verb must be in the past. That is why the book’s own example on page 61 reads, “Long ago, in France, a little boy named Louis Braille was playing near his home.”

A sentence of your own: The man was using a stick to walk up the hill.

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