NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 2 Say the Right Thing, Scene II — Let us discuss
Book page 77 Updated on2026-09-05
Q1.
Rectify the false statements given below from Scene II of the play. An example has been done for you. [Example — 1. Mrs. Harding states that they do not like London as it is not the same as Lanfield. Rectification: Mrs. Harding states that they like Lanfield very much even though it is not the same as London.] — 2. Mrs. Harding was pleased to know that Mary was familiar with her children.
Answer
Rectification: Mrs. Harding was not pleased at all, because she has no children. When Mary praised “What beautiful children you have,” she replied, “Oh, I haven't any children,” and when Mary insisted she had seen a little boy and a little girl, Mrs. Harding said — the stage direction notes she was not very pleased — “I have no children; believe me.”
Method for a ‘rectify' question: Do not merely write “False”. Give the corrected statement as a full sentence, and where you can, add the line from the play that proves it.
Q2.
Rectify the false statement: Mrs. Shaw shared that she liked Mrs. Best as she read a lot of newspapers.
Answer
Rectification: Mrs. Shaw said she liked Mrs. Best because she is a nice woman — “Do you know Mrs. Best? She's a nice woman. I like her.” She said nothing about newspapers. It was Mr. Best whom Mary described as reading two newspapers in the train every day, and it was Mrs. Shaw who then covered up Mary's rudeness by saying, “Bankers always have to read a lot of newspapers.”
Why Mrs. Shaw said that: Mary had just called bankers people who “can't think” — in front of Mrs. Lee, whose own brother is a banker. Mrs. Shaw's remark about newspapers was a quick, kind attempt to rescue the conversation.
Q3.
Rectify the false statement: Mrs. Harding and Mrs. Shaw agree that wearing a blue dress with a red coat is unfashionable.
Answer
Rectification: Neither of them said any such thing. It was Mary who laughed at Mrs. Best for going out “in a blue dress with a red coat over it”. Mrs. Harding then said quietly, “I have a blue dress, and I often put on my red coat at the same time,” and Mrs. Shaw said quickly, “I like blue dresses and red coats.” Far from calling it unfashionable, both women defended the combination.
Notice the stage direction: Mrs. Shaw speaks (quickly). Throughout Scene II her adverbs — quietly, quickly — show her rushing in to repair the damage Mary has just done. And after this exchange comes the flat line: “(No one says anything.)”
Q4.
Rectify the false statement: Mary shares that she finds the dog outside the window cute.
Answer
Rectification: Mary said the very opposite — she found the dog dirty and unwanted. Looking out of the window she said, “Oh, there's that dog again! It always looks very dirty. I don't like dogs, do you? Who wants a dog? … Why doesn't its owner keep it clean?” Mrs. Harding then looked out of the window and answered, “Yes, I've seen it. That's Towzer. It's our dog.”
Why this is the funniest blunder: Mary does not simply dislike the dog — she criticises its owner for not keeping it clean, while sitting in the same room as the owner. The stage direction that follows says everything: “(with a red face) Oh, I didn't know! (No one speaks.)”