NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 2 A Funny Man — Let us learn

Book page 63 to 65 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.

Read the following phrases from the poem: • walking down • taking out • sat down. These are phrasal verbs. Match the phrasal verbs in Column 1 with their correct meaning in Column 2. Column 1: 1. take up 2. take after 3. take in 4. take over 5. take off — Column 2: (i) to understand or comprehend something (ii) to assume control or responsibility for something (iii) to begin to study, practice, or do something (iv) to become successful or popular quickly (v) to resemble or look similar to (usually a family member)

Answer

Column 1	Column 2	Meaning in your own words	Example sentence
1. take up	(iii)	to begin to study, practise or do something	Arjun has decided to take up the tabla this year.
2. take after	(v)	to resemble or look similar to (usually a family member)	Meera takes after her grandmother — the same laugh exactly.
3. take in	(i)	to understand or comprehend something	The instructions were so long that I could not take them in.
4. take over	(ii)	to assume control or responsibility for something	The vice-captain took over when the captain was injured.
5. take off	(iv)	to become successful or popular quickly	The new dosa stall really took off after the food festival.

Why phrasal verbs are tricky: The verb stays the same — take — but the little word after it changes the meaning completely. You cannot work out ‘take after' from ‘take' plus ‘after'; the pair has to be learnt as one unit.

Q2.

Now, fill in the blanks with suitable phrasal verbs from the table given in I. You may change the tense of the verb, if required. 1. The new technology is set to ______ traditional methods of communication. 2. I tried hard to ______ what the writer wanted to say but was unsuccessful. 3. Arjun decided to ______ painting as a hobby. 4. The smartphone quickly ______ the sales in the market. 5. Sheela ______ her father; they have the same smile.

Answer

1. take over
2. take in
3. take up
4. took off
5. takes after

No.	Completed sentence	Why
1	The new technology is set to take over traditional methods of communication.	It will assume control / replace them
2	I tried hard to take in what the writer wanted to say but was unsuccessful.	‘Understand' — shown by “but was unsuccessful”
3	Arjun decided to take up painting as a hobby.	To begin doing something new
4	The smartphone quickly took off in the market.	Became popular quickly — past tense needed after ‘quickly … in the market'
5	Sheela takes after her father; they have the same smile.	Resembles a family member — simple present, third person singular

Watch the tense: Sentence 1 needs the plain form after ‘to'; sentence 4 needs the past form took; sentence 5 needs the -s form takes because Sheela is singular.

Q3.

Now, frame sentences of your own using any five phrasal verbs.

Answer

Method: pick five phrasal verbs, write down the meaning of each first, and then build a sentence in which that meaning is obvious even to someone who does not know the phrase.

Phrasal verb	Meaning	My sentence
take up	begin doing something new	My sister has taken up kabaddi and practises every evening at the school ground.
take after	resemble a family member	Everyone says I take after my mother because we both hum while we work.
take in	understand	The teacher explained the sum twice before I could take it in.
take over	assume control	When our monitor fell ill, Farhan took over the register for the week.
take off	become popular quickly	Our library's comic corner really took off after we put up the new shelf.
walk down	walk along	A funny kind of man came walking down our street last Sunday.
sit down	take a seat	He sat down on the ground and began to sing.

Tip: Some phrasal verbs can be split (take it in, took the register over) and some cannot (take after — never “take her after”). When in doubt, keep the two words together.

Q4.

Match the verbs in Column 1 with any suitable adverbs or prepositions in Column 2. Write their meanings in Column 3. An example has been done for you. Column 1: 1. look 2. run 3. put 4. break 5. call — Column 2: after, away, up, for, in, on, into, down, off, out — Column 3: look after: take care of, …

Answer

Each verb below joins several of the words in Column 2. Two or three per verb are enough for the exercise; the extras are for your own notes.

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3 — meaning	Example
1. look	after	take care of (example given)	She looks after her little brother.
	for	try to find	I am looking for my geometry box.
	up	search in a book or dictionary	Look up ‘currant' in the dictionary.
	into	investigate	The principal will look into the matter.
	down on	consider inferior	Never look down on anyone.
2. run	into	meet by chance	I ran into my old teacher at the fair.
	out (of)	finish the supply of	We have run out of chalk.
	away	escape	The frightened calf ran away.
	after	chase	The dog ran after the cyclist.
3. put	off	postpone	The match was put off because of rain.
	on	wear	Mrs. Harding often puts on her red coat.
	up with	tolerate	The guests put up with Mary's rudeness.
	away	keep back in its place	“Put that coat away in your bedroom.”
4. break	down	stop working; collapse	Our school bus broke down near the bridge.
	out	begin suddenly (fire, war, disease)	A fire broke out in the market.
	in	enter by force	Thieves broke in through the window.
	off	end something suddenly	They broke off the conversation.
5. call	off	cancel	The trip was called off.
	on	visit briefly; ask to speak	Mrs. Shaw asked Mrs. Harding to call on her.
	for	require; go to fetch	This work calls for great patience.
	out	shout	He called out my name from the gate.

Tip: Keep a page at the back of your notebook headed ‘Phrasal verbs', with three columns — phrase, meaning, my sentence. Add one every day and you will have three hundred by the end of the year.

Q5.

Read the following words from the poem: walking, staggered, hopped. The given words denote the different ways of walking. Arrange the words given in the box in increasing order of pace. [Box: sprint, trot, jog] — Steps given: stagger, walk, 1. ______, hop, 2. ______, run, 3. ______

Answer

The three missing words are 1. trot, 2. jog, 3. sprint.

The complete staircase, from the slowest at the bottom to the fastest at the top:

Step	Word	What it means
7 (fastest)	3. sprint	run at top speed for a short distance
6	run	move fast on foot
5	2. jog	run slowly and steadily, for exercise
4	hop	move in short jumps, often on one foot
3	1. trot	move at a brisk pace, quicker than a walk
2	walk	move at a normal, steady pace
1 (slowest)	stagger	move unsteadily, almost falling

How to be sure: Fit each word into the gap and test it against its neighbours. Trot must sit between walk and hop — it is faster than walking but not yet running. Jog must sit between hop and run — it is running, but slowly. That leaves sprint, the fastest of all, at the very top.

Word note: The poem uses three of these — the man came walking down the street, the poet staggered back, and he hopped home. English is rich in such verbs: also try stroll, amble, march, stride, dash, scamper, plod.

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