NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 3 (Simple Past and Past Perfect)My Brother's Great Invention — Let us learn

Book page 103 & 104 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.

IV 1. Underline the verbs in simple past and past perfect tense for the following sentences from the text. (i) Ma had rushed in to see what the racket was all about and found Papa standing there, sopping wet and scowling. (ii) Anand had vanished by this time and reappeared only after dinner when Papa had cooled down.

Answer

Sentence	Past perfect (had + V3) — the older action	Simple past — the later action
(i) Ma had rushed in to see what the racket was all about and found Papa standing there, sopping wet and scowling.	had rushed	was, found
(ii) Anand had vanished by this time and reappeared only after dinner when Papa had cooled down.	had vanished, had cooled	reappeared

Why it happens: When two past actions are being compared, the one that happened first takes the past perfect (had + past participle) and the one that happened later takes the simple past. In (i) Ma's rushing in came before she found Papa dripping on the step. In (ii) the vanishing came before the reappearing, and Papa's cooling down came before that reappearance too — which is exactly why Anand waited.

Q2.

IV 2. Fill in the blanks with the simple past or past perfect form of the verbs given in brackets. (i) After Rohan A. __________ (finish) his homework, he B. __________ (decide) to go for a walk. He C. __________ (leave) the house and D. __________ (realise) he E. __________ (forget) his keys inside. (ii) By the time we A. __________ (reach) the station, the train B. __________ (already/leave). We C. __________ (wait) for the next one to arrive.

Answer

(i) After Rohan A. had finished his homework, he B. decided to go for a walk. He C. left the house and D. realised he E. had forgotten his keys inside.

(ii) By the time we A. reached the station, the train B. had already left. We C. waited for the next one to arrive.

Older action → had + V3 → had finished, had forgotten, had already left
Later action → simple past → decided, left, realised, reached, waited

Why it happens: Look for the signal words. After and by the time introduce the action that was already over, so those clauses take the past perfect. In (i)E the forgetting happened before the realising, so it must be 'had forgotten'. In (ii)B the word 'already' is a further clue — the train's departure was complete before the arrival.

Tip: Never use two past perfects side by side for actions in a simple sequence. 'He had left the house and had realised…' is wrong; only the earlier of the pair needs 'had'.

Q3.

IV 3. Combine the pairs of sentences using the time expressions in the boxes given below (before, after, by the time, when) and rewrite them using the past perfect tense. An example has been done for you. Example: Rohan had packed his suitcase before he left for the airport. (ii) Old action: We started work. New action: He arrived in the morning. (iii) Old action: They set up the tents. New action: The others brought food and medicine. (iv) Old action: The students became quiet. New action: They heard the teacher coming. (v) Old action: The villagers left the village. New action: The flood submerged the entire area.

Answer

No.	Old action + New action	Combined sentence (past perfect)
(i)	Rohan packed his suitcase. / He left for the airport.	Rohan had packed his suitcase before he left for the airport. (given)
(ii)	We started work. / He arrived in the morning.	We had started work before he arrived in the morning.
(iii)	They set up the tents. / The others brought food and medicine.	They had set up the tents by the time the others brought food and medicine.
(iv)	The students became quiet. / They heard the teacher coming.	The students had become quiet when they heard the teacher coming.
(v)	The villagers left the village. / The flood submerged the entire area.	The villagers had left the village before the flood submerged the entire area.

Why it happens: The pattern is always the same — old action in past perfect + time expression + new action in simple past. Any of the four expressions may be used as long as the order of events stays true: before and by the time put the old action first; after reverses the clauses ('After they had set up the tents, the others brought food and medicine'); when is the loosest and simply marks the moment.

Check it yourself: Rewrite (v) with 'after' and see that the meaning is unchanged: After the villagers had left the village, the flood submerged the entire area.

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