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NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 2 A Tale of Valour — Let us learn

Book page 62 to 66 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
Match the expressions from the text in Column 1 with the most suitable situations given in Column 2. Column 1: 1. Fight to the last man 2. Foil the plan 3. Deliver a blow 4. Hold their ground. Column 2: (i) A sports team scores a last-minute goal, giving them the lead and shaking the opponent's confidence. (ii) The soldiers fought valiantly until each one laid down his life for the nation. (iii) Soldiers stay in their position and fight back, even though the enemy is stronger. (iv) A spy disrupts the enemy's efforts to invade a country by intercepting their communications.
Answer
Column 1Column 2What the expression means
1. Fight to the last man(ii)Keep fighting until nobody is left to fight
2. Foil the plan(iv)Prevent a plan from succeeding
3. Deliver a blow(i)Strike a damaging setback at somebody
4. Hold their ground(iii)Refuse to move back from a position
How the pairs were fixed: (ii) is the only situation in which every single person fights to the end, so it must go with fight to the last man. (iv) is the only one about preventing something planned — hence foil the plan. (i) describes a sudden setback that shakes the other side, which is a blow. (iii) is about staying put under pressure — holding ground. Notice that (ii) and (iii) are both about soldiers, so you must read past the setting to the action.
All four come from the chapter: 90 men “managed to foil the plan of some 500 infiltrators”; the invaders wanted to “deliver a blow to newly-independent India”; he encouraged his men “to hold their ground”; and he promised to “fight to the last man and the last round”.
Q2.
Now, complete the following sentence using the expressions from Column 1: The detective managed to ______________ by finding the hidden evidence before the culprit could get rid of it.
Answer

The detective managed to foil the plan by finding the hidden evidence before the culprit could get rid of it.

Why: the detective stops something from happening — the culprit's plan to destroy the evidence. Stopping a scheme before it works is exactly what foil means.
Q3.
The company's new advertising campaign was meant to ______________ to their competitors' sales.
Answer

The company's new advertising campaign was meant to deliver a blow to their competitors' sales.

Why: the preposition to already in the sentence is the clue. You deliver a blow to somebody — the other three expressions do not take “to”. The campaign is meant to damage rival sales, which is a blow.
Q4.
The hikers chose to ______________ despite the heavy rain, refusing to turn back on their journey.
Answer

The hikers chose to hold their ground despite the heavy rain, refusing to turn back on their journey.

Why: “refusing to turn back” is a paraphrase of the idiom itself — standing firm instead of retreating. Note that here the “enemy” is only the weather, which shows the expression has moved beyond its military origin.
Q5.
Despite being heavily outnumbered, the soldiers vowed to defend their homeland and ______________, refusing to surrender to the enemy forces.
Answer

Despite being heavily outnumbered, the soldiers vowed to defend their homeland and fight to the last man, refusing to surrender to the enemy forces.

Why: “heavily outnumbered”, “refusing to surrender” and a vow together match the strongest of the four expressions — the one that accepts no limit short of the end. It is very nearly Major Somnath Sharma's own sentence.
Q6.
Read the highlighted words in the following sentence from the text: “A contingent of troops posted to Jammu and Kashmir was air-lifted into Srinagar…” There are many such collective nouns used in the context of armed forces. Match the collective nouns in Column 1 to their meanings in Column 2. You may refer to a dictionary. Column 1: 1. regiment 2. squadron 3. fleet 4. battalion. Column 2: (i) a large body of troops ready for battle, especially an infantry unit (ii) a permanent unit of an army typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel/colonel and divided into several companies (iii) a small unit, typically comprising 12–24 aircrafts and their crews used in air force, naval, or army aviation services (iv) a group of ships sailing together, engaged in the same activity, or under the same ownership.
Answer
Column 1Column 2Which service
1. regiment(ii)Army — a permanent unit divided into several companies
2. squadron(iii)Air Force (also naval and army aviation) — 12–24 aircraft and crews
3. fleet(iv)Navy — a group of ships
4. battalion(i)Army — a large body of troops, especially infantry
The quickest route: sort by what is being counted before you read the wording. Aircraft → squadron. Ships → fleet. That leaves regiment and battalion, both of which count soldiers; the one described as “permanent… divided into several companies” must be the larger, longer-lived body, which is the regiment.
Did you know? The chapter uses these words exactly: “the D Company of the 4th Battalion of Kumaon Regiment”. That single phrase shows the whole ladder — company inside battalion, battalion inside regiment.
Q7.
Now, fill in the blanks suitably with words from Column 1 in the table: The commanding officer addressed the entire ________ of soldiers during the morning assembly.
Answer

The commanding officer addressed the entire regiment of soldiers during the morning assembly.

Why: “the entire ________ of soldiers” at a routine morning assembly points to the standing, permanent body a soldier belongs to — his regiment — rather than to a body assembled for a particular battle.
Q8.
The admiral ordered the entire ________ to set sail for battle.
Answer

The admiral ordered the entire fleet to set sail for battle.

Why: two words settle it — “admiral” (a naval rank) and “set sail”. Only ships sail, and a group of ships is a fleet.
Q9.
The ________ of infantry advanced slowly through the dense forest.
Answer

The battalion of infantry advanced slowly through the dense forest.

Why: the definition matched to battalion says “especially an infantry unit”, and the sentence supplies the word “infantry”. A battalion is also the size of unit that actually advances as one body in the field.
Q10.
A ________ of fighter jets was sent to intercept the enemy planes.
Answer

A squadron of fighter jets was sent to intercept the enemy planes.

Why: aircraft are counted in squadrons. Notice the verb too — “A squadron … was sent”, singular, because the collective noun is being treated as one body. That is the subject–verb agreement point you meet later on page 65.
Q11.
Read the following words from the text and fill in the blanks with the correct words by taking clues from the meanings given below in the box. (overwhelm, overthrow, overrun) Meanings: 1. To take and seize control: ____________
Answer

overthrow

Why: throw over — to knock a ruler or a government off its place and take control. The chapter uses it of the invaders' aim: “to engineer a revolt in Kashmir, overthrow the government, and capture the territory.” It is used of governments, kings and regimes, not of places.
Q12.
2. To invade or occupy an area in large numbers: ____________
Answer

overrun

Why: run over a place — to spread across it in numbers so large that it cannot be defended. The chapter uses it of D Company's position: his men held on “for over six more hours before being overrun by the enemy.” Note the key word in the meaning — “in large numbers”.
Q13.
3. To flood or overpower someone or something emotionally: ____________
Answer

overwhelm

Why: the only one of the three that is used of feelings as well as of force. The chapter has “the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy”, and you can equally say “she was overwhelmed by the news”. Overthrow and overrun cannot be used that way.
Q14.
Now, create a list of at least five other verbs that begin with ‘over’ and frame sentences of your own.
Answer

Here are five (with three extra), each with a sentence. Notice that over- does one of two jobs: it means “above / across”, or it means “too much”.

VerbMeaningSentence
overcomeTo defeat a difficultyEvelyn Glennie overcame her hearing loss and became a world-famous percussionist.
overtakeTo pass someone moving ahead of youOur bus overtook a slow truck on the Belagavi road.
overhearTo hear something you were not meant to hearI overheard my parents planning a surprise for my birthday.
overlookTo fail to notice; also, to look down upon from aboveThe teacher overlooked one spelling mistake in my essay.
overseeTo superviseTribhuvandas Patel oversaw the work of the small dairy cooperative at Anand.
overflowTo spill beyond the edgesThe Domri river overflowed its banks after the night's rain.
overloadTo load too muchDo not overload the cart; the bullocks cannot pull it.
oversleepTo sleep longer than intendedI overslept and missed the school assembly.
Tip: sort your own list into the two groups — “above/across” (overtake, overlook, overflow) and “too much” (overload, oversleep, overeat). You will remember them far better than as a flat list.
Q15.
In the following pairs of words, ‘c’ is used for nouns, while ‘s’ is used for verbs: advice (noun) and advise (verb); practice (noun) and practise (verb); device (noun) and devise (verb); council (noun) and counsel (verb). Now, fill in the blanks correctly with the words given in the brackets. 1. The teacher's (i) ____________ is always helpful, and she continues to (ii) ____________ students on their career choices. (advice/advise)
Answer

(i) advice    (ii) advise

The teacher's advice is always helpful, and she continues to advise students on their career choices.
Why: after The teacher's we need a thing she gives — a noun, spelt with c. After to we need an action — a verb, spelt with s.
Check it yourself: say the two words aloud. The noun ends in the hissing sound /s/ (advice), the verb in the buzzing sound /z/ (advise). Your ear knows the rule even before you write it.
Q16.
2. The musician believes that daily (i) ____________ helps a lot, so she is always ready to (ii) ____________ her harmonium lessons. (practice/practise)
Answer

(i) practice    (ii) practise

The musician believes that daily practice helps a lot, so she is always ready to practise her harmonium lessons.
Why: “daily ________ helps” — the blank is the subject of the verb helps, so it must be a noun (c). “ready to ________” takes an infinitive, so it must be a verb (s).
Note: this practice/practise distinction belongs to British spelling, which the NCERT book follows. American English spells both with a c.
Q17.
3. The scientist uses a strange (i) ____________ for experiments and plans to (ii) ____________ new methods for his analysis. (device/devise)
Answer

(i) device    (ii) devise

The scientist uses a strange device for experiments and plans to devise new methods for his analysis.
Why: after the article a and the adjective strange we must have a noun — an object he uses (c). “plans to ________ new methods” needs an action — to invent or work out (s).
Q18.
4. The village (i) ____________ met to discuss issues and decided to (ii) ____________ the villagers on important matters. (council/counsel)
Answer

(i) council    (ii) counsel

The village council met to discuss issues and decided to counsel the villagers on important matters.
Why: the thing that met must be a body of people — the noun council (as in a gram panchayat). “decided to ________ the villagers” needs the verb counsel, meaning to advise or guide.
Careful: this pair breaks the neat c/s pattern of the other three — the difference here is ci vs se, and counsel can also be a noun meaning “advice” or “a lawyer”.
Q19.
Read the highlighted words in the following sentences from the text: “…ended with echoes of courage that serve as an inspiration…”; “A contingent of troops posted to Jammu and Kashmir was airlifted into Srinagar…”; “D Company with 90 soldiers was the last and they were expected to return by 2:00 p.m.”; “The life and sacrifice of Major Somnath Sharma embody the highest ideals of duty, honour, and patriotism.” The highlighted words are either singular verbs or plural verbs. They are in agreement with the subject of the sentence. This is called Subject-Verb Agreement. Now, fill in the blanks for the following sentences by choosing the correct verb given within brackets. 1. The bouquet of flowers __________ (is/are) beautiful.
Answer

The bouquet of flowers is beautiful.

Why: the subject is the bouquet, not flowers. “Of flowers” is a prepositional phrase that only describes the bouquet, and a verb never agrees with a noun inside a prepositional phrase. One bouquet → singular verb is.
Tip: cross out the “of …” phrase and read the sentence again — “The bouquet ___ beautiful.” The answer becomes obvious. This one trick solves most of the questions in this exercise.
Q20.
2. Neither the teacher nor the students __________ (was/were) aware of the change in the schedule.
Answer

Neither the teacher nor the students were aware of the change in the schedule.

Why — the rule of proximity: with either…or and neither…nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it. Here the nearer subject is “the students”, which is plural, so the verb is were.
Check it yourself: reverse the order — “Neither the students nor the teacher was aware…” The verb changes with the noun that has moved next to it. Careful writers usually put the plural noun second, because a plural verb sounds smoother.
Q21.
3. Each of the participants __________ (has/have) submitted their projects on time.
Answer

Each of the participants has submitted their projects on time.

Why: each, every, either, neither, one, none, everybody and somebody are all singular. Each means “each one, taken separately”, so however many participants there are, the verb stays singular: has.
Q22.
4. The data collected by the researchers __________ (shows/show) significant trends.
Answer

The data collected by the researchers shows significant trends.

Why: in ordinary modern English, data is treated as an uncountable noun — like information or evidence — and takes a singular verb. Also note that “collected by the researchers” is a participle phrase describing data; the plural word researchers inside it cannot control the verb.
Did you know? In Latin, data is the plural of datum, and in strict scientific writing you may still meet “the data show”. Both are defensible; this book follows the ordinary modern usage, so write shows.
Q23.
5. One of the players __________ (was/were) injured during the match.
Answer

One of the players was injured during the match.

Why: the subject is one — a single player. “Of the players” only tells us which group he came from. Cross that phrase out and the sentence reads “One ___ injured”, which must be was.
Q24.
6. Either the children or their guardian __________ (has/have) to attend the meeting.
Answer

Either the children or their guardian has to attend the meeting.

Why: the rule of proximity again. The subject nearer the verb is “their guardian”, which is singular, so the verb is has. Compare this with question 2, where the nearer subject was plural — the same rule gives the opposite answer.
Q25.
7. A pair of shoes __________ (is/are) missing from the rack.
Answer

A pair of shoes is missing from the rack.

Why: the subject is a pair — one pair, counted as a single unit — so the verb is singular. Words like pair, bunch, flock, set and packet behave the same way.
Compare: “My shoes are missing” (plural subject) with “A pair of shoes is missing” (singular subject). The footwear has not changed; the grammar of the subject has.
Q26.
8. Neither of the statements __________ (is/are) true.
Answer

Neither of the statements is true.

Why: here neither is a pronoun standing alone — “neither one” — and like each and either it is singular. Do not confuse this with the neither…nor pattern of questions 2 and 6, where a second subject follows.
Q27.
9. The members of the jury __________ (has deliver/have delivered) their verdict to the court.
Answer

The members of the jury have delivered their verdict to the court.

Why: the subject is the members — plural — so the auxiliary is have. The other option is doubly wrong: it is singular, and “has deliver” is not even a possible form, since has must be followed by a past participle (delivered), not the base verb.
Compare: “The jury has delivered its verdict” — one body, singular. “The members of the jury have delivered their verdict” — several people, plural.
Q28.
10. Mathematics __________ (is/are) an interesting subject for many students.
Answer

Mathematics is an interesting subject for many students.

Why: some nouns end in -s but name a single thing — mathematics, physics, economics, news, politics, measles. They look plural and behave singular. The rest of the sentence confirms it: “an interesting subject”, singular.
Q29.
Read the following passage and correct the incorrect usage of verbs. One example has been done for you. “A battalion of soldiers stand at attention as the National flag are raised.” → “A battalion of soldiers stands at attention as the National flag is raised.” Each soldier salute with pride while the commander and his assistants inspects the parade. The sound of marching feet echo through the air as a group of cadets prepare for their drill. Meanwhile, a convoy of military vehicles pass by, drawing cheers from the gathered crowd.
Answer

The corrected passage:

Each soldier salutes with pride while the commander and his assistants inspect the parade.
The sound of marching feet echoes through the air as a group of cadets prepares for their drill.
Meanwhile, a convoy of military vehicles passes by, drawing cheers from the gathered crowd.
SubjectWrongRightRule
Each soldiersalutesalutesEach is singular
the commander and his assistantsinspectsinspectTwo subjects joined by and → plural
The sound (of marching feet)echoechoesHead noun is sound, singular
a group (of cadets)preparepreparesHead noun is group, singular
a convoy (of military vehicles)passpassesHead noun is convoy, singular
Why the passage is tricky: four of the five subjects are followed by an “of …” phrase containing a plural noun — feet, cadets, vehicles, assistants. Your ear is pulled towards the nearest noun. Find the head noun of the subject first, then choose the verb.
Note on “a group of cadets prepares”: in British English you may also write “a group of cadets prepare” when you are thinking of the cadets as individuals. This exercise, however, is drilling the singular collective, so follow the pattern set by the worked example (“A battalion … stands”).
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