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NCERT Solutions for Class 8th English Chapter 1 The Wit that Won Hearts (prose) — Let us learn (IV–VI) — Conditional clauses

Book page 11–12 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.
IV. In sentence 1 ‘if you like’ is the subordinate clause (if clause) and ‘I will try my best to resolve this matter’ is the main clause. Identify the subordinate and main clauses in sentences 2 and 3. 2. If, by chance something were to go wrong, our farmers would suffer. 3. If I had known this would happen, I would have chosen another day.
Answer
SentenceSubordinate clause (‘if’ clause)Main clausePattern
2If, by chance, something were to go wrongour farmers would sufferSimple Past + Past Modal
3If I had known this would happenI would have chosen another dayPast Perfect + would have + Past Participle
How to tell them apart every time: The subordinate clause is the one that cannot stand alone. Read “If I had known this would happen” by itself and the listener waits for the rest — that incompleteness is the mark of a subordinate clause. “I would have chosen another day” is complete on its own, so it is the main clause. The word if is the subordinating conjunction that ties one to the other.
Tip: Order does not decide the type. Both sentences could be rewritten with the main clause first — “Our farmers would suffer if, by chance, something were to go wrong” — and the labels would not change. Notice that the comma disappears when the ‘if’ clause moves to the end.
Q2.
Now, match the subordinate clauses (if clauses) in Column 1 with the appropriate main clauses in Column 2 to make complete sentences.
Column 1Column 2
(i) If I had a magic wand,A. We will go to the theatre.
(ii) If it rains tomorrow,B. I would sneak into the secret room.
(iii) If you had listened carefully,C. I would give myself wings.
(iv) If you finish your homework,D. The boys would have woken up on time.
(v) If I were invisible,E. We will stay indoors and play board games.
(vi) If the alarm had rung,F. You would have solved the puzzle.
Answer
‘If’ clauseMain clauseTypeWhat decides it
(i) If I had a magic wand,C. I would give myself wings.hypotheticalsimple past → would + base verb
(ii) If it rains tomorrow,E. We will stay indoors and play board games.possible futuresimple present → will
(iii) If you had listened carefully,F. You would have solved the puzzle.impossible pastpast perfect → would have + past participle
(iv) If you finish your homework,A. We will go to the theatre.possible futuresimple present → will
(v) If I were invisible,B. I would sneak into the secret room.hypotheticalwere (not was) → would
(vi) If the alarm had rung,D. The boys would have woken up on time.impossible pastpast perfect → would have + past participle
Why matching is really a grammar test, not a meaning test: Two clauses can be joined only if their verb forms belong to the same pattern. Look at the tense in Column 1 and the pattern in Column 2 answers itself — (ii) and (iv) are in the present, so they can take only A and E, the two clauses with will. Meaning then separates the pair: rain keeps you indoors, finished homework earns an outing.
Did you know? In (v) we say “If I were invisible”, not “If I was”. This special form is the subjunctive, kept in English only for imagined, contrary-to-fact situations. The book uses it in the text too: “If, by chance, something were to go wrong”.
Q3.
V. Complete the following sentences appropriately with either the main clause or the subordinate clause (if clause). 1. Your teacher will be unhappy if _______________________.
Answer

Your teacher will be unhappy if you keep leaving your homework unfinished.

Why the ‘if’ clause is in the present: The main clause already uses will, so this is a real, possible situation — the first pattern in the table on page 11. The ‘if’ clause therefore takes the simple present (keep), never will keep.
Other correct answers: “…if you come late again”; “…if we make a noise during the test”.
Q4.
2. They would have caught the train if _______________________.
Answer

They would have caught the train if they had left the house ten minutes earlier.

Why the past perfect: The main clause is would have caught, which belongs to the impossible-past pattern. Its partner must be past perfect — had left, not left. The sentence says the train was missed and nothing can now change that.
Q5.
3. _______________________ if you continue to stay up late every night.
Answer

You will find it hard to concentrate in class if you continue to stay up late every night.

Why will: The ‘if’ clause is in the simple present (continue), so the situation is real and possible. The main clause must therefore use will or another present modal such as may or can.
Q6.
4. If she knew the answer, _______________________.
Answer

If she knew the answer, she would raise her hand at once.

What the sentence quietly tells us: Knew here is not past time — it is the hypothetical pattern, and it carries the meaning “but she does not know it”. That is why the main clause takes would and not will.
Q7.
5. _______________________ if she had studied harder.
Answer

She would have topped the class if she had studied harder.

Tip: Whenever you see had + past participle after if, the other half is fixed: would have (or could have / might have) + past participle. Writing “she would top the class” here is the commonest error in this exercise.
Q8.
6. If I had a million rupees, _______________________.
Answer

If I had a million rupees, I would build a library for my village.

Other correct answers: “…I would pay for my sister’s college fees”; “…I would buy every book on my list and still not know where to keep them.” Any main clause works as long as it uses would + base verb — the money is imaginary, not expected.
Q9.
VI. Complete the following sentences. One example has been done for you. 1. If I were a tree, I would play with the wind and talk to the birds. 2. If I were the Head Teacher of my school, _______.
Answer

If I were the Head Teacher of my school, I would set aside the last period every Friday for reading, and let students choose their own books.

Tip: The example sets the standard — “play with the wind and talk to the birds” is imaginative, not merely correct. Give your sentence one concrete detail (a day, a place, a thing) rather than a general wish like “I would make the school better”.
Q10.
3. If I were a bird, _______.
Answer

If I were a bird, I would follow the monsoon clouds northward and watch the dry fields turn green under me.

Q11.
4. If I were a magician, _______.
Answer

If I were a magician, I would turn every empty plot in my town into a garden — and leave one stone in each, for Mrs. Jones.

Q12.
5. If I had studied harder, _______.
Answer

If I had studied harder, I would have solved the last question of the test instead of leaving it blank.

Why this one changes pattern: Sentences 2–4 begin “If I were…” — imagined present. This one begins “If I had studied…” — past perfect, so it is about a real past that cannot be altered, and the answer must be would have + past participle.
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