NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 1 –14The Wit that Won Hearts (prose) — Let us speak

Book page 13 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.

I. While asking questions, it is important to use the appropriate tone to convey the correct meaning. 1. ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions have a rising tone at the end. (Are you coming home?) 2. ‘-Wh’ questions have a falling tone at the end. (When will you come home?) This rise and fall in tone is called intonation. Now, work in pairs and mark the intonation in the questions given below. Take turns to practise by saying them aloud with the correct intonation. (i) Is this your cat? (ii) What is the name of your cat? (iii) Will you be going to your village? (iv) Why are you going to your village? (v) Is this where you live? (vi) Where do you live? (vii) Can I meet your parents? (viii) How are your parents? (ix) Do you have any plans for tomorrow? (x) What are you going to do tomorrow?

Answer

No.	Question	Type	Intonation
(i)	Is this your cat?	Yes/No	rising ↗ on cat
(ii)	What is the name of your cat?	Wh-	falling ↘ on cat
(iii)	Will you be going to your village?	Yes/No	rising ↗ on village
(iv)	Why are you going to your village?	Wh-	falling ↘ on village
(v)	Is this where you live?	Yes/No	rising ↗ on live
(vi)	Where do you live?	Wh-	falling ↘ on live
(vii)	Can I meet your parents?	Yes/No	rising ↗ on parents
(viii)	How are your parents?	Wh-	falling ↘ on parents
(ix)	Do you have any plans for tomorrow?	Yes/No	rising ↗ on tomorrow
(x)	What are you going to do tomorrow?	Wh-	falling ↘ on tomorrow

Why the two tones differ: A Yes/No question is genuinely open — the voice goes up because the speaker is handing the sentence over and waiting. A Wh- question has already fixed what is being asked (what, why, where); only the detail is missing, so the voice comes down, as in a statement. Ask a Wh- question with a rising tone and it starts to sound like surprise or disbelief: “Where do you live?↗” suggests you cannot believe the answer you just heard.

Try This: The questions are deliberately arranged in pairs — each Yes/No question is followed by a Wh- question about the same thing. Say (i) and (ii) one after the other and listen to your own voice go up, then down.

Q2.

II. ‘What’, ‘Why’, ‘When’, ‘How’, ‘Where’, and ‘Who’ are the words used to ask questions. These words are called question words. Let us use these words and make some questions. While making questions, remember the correct word order. • Who is the cleverest character in the story? (Correct) • Who the cleverest character is in the story? (Incorrect) Work in pairs and take turns to ask and answer questions about a trip that you are planning. Prompts: The destination (Where…), Purpose (Why…), Mode of transport (How…), Duration (When…), Travel companions (Who…), Activities (What…)

Answer

A model pair-conversation. Read A’s lines with a falling tone — they are all Wh- questions.

Prompt	A asks	B answers
Where	Where are we going for the trip?	To Hampi, in Karnataka.
Why	Why have you chosen Hampi?	Because it was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire we have just read about.
How	How will we get there?	By overnight train to Hospet, and then by bus.
When	When will we leave, and how long will we stay?	We leave on 12 October and stay for three days.
Who	Who is coming with us?	Twenty students and two teachers.
What	What will we do there?	Visit the Vitthala temple, sketch the stone chariot and keep a travel diary.

The word-order rule the book is testing: In a question the helping verb (or is/are/was/were) comes before the subject — “Who is the cleverest character…?”, not “Who the cleverest character is…?” The only exception is when the question word is itself the subject, as in “Who came late?”, where nothing needs to be moved.

Q3.

Now, work in pairs and take turns to ask and answer the questions about witty characters in folktales or stories you have read. Use the correct intonation while asking questions. For example: Your favourite character in the folktale (Who...?) — Who is your favourite character in the folktale? 1. The name of the witty character (Who...?)

Answer

Question: Who is the witty character in the story you have read?

Sample answer: Tenali Rama, the poet and advisor in the court of King Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagara.

Tip: Say the question with a falling tone — it begins with a question word, so it is a Wh- question, not a Yes/No question.

Q4.

2. The reason for her/his wit being important in the story (Why...?)

Answer

Question: Why is his wit important in the story?

Sample answer: Because nothing else could have worked. The king was too proud to be argued with and the ministers were too frightened to try. Only a joke could carry the truth to him without insulting him.

Q5.

3. The most famous trick or clever idea she/he used (What…?)

Answer

Question: What was the cleverest idea he used?

Sample answer: He brought “revolutionary” paddy seeds to court and claimed the fault in farming lay with the sower — a man who yawns while sowing. The whole court laughed, the king yawned himself, and the point was made without a word about the queen.

Q6.

4. The time period or setting of the folktale/story (When…?)

Answer

Question: When is the story set?

Sample answer: In the reign of Krishnadeva Raya, from 1509 to 1529 CE — the period the text calls the Golden Era of the Vijayanagara Empire.

Q7.

5. The way she/he used her/his intelligence to solve a problem (How...?)

Answer

Question: How did he use his intelligence to solve the problem?

Sample answer: Indirectly. He never mentioned the quarrel; he arranged a public joke so that the king would draw the conclusion himself and could change his mind without ever admitting in public that he had been wrong.

Q8.

6. The location where the story takes place (Where…?)

Answer

Question: Where does the story take place?

Sample answer: In the Vijayanagara Empire — chiefly in the king’s court, “its intricately carved pillars towering towards the high ceiling”, and in the palace where the king and queen live.

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