NCERT Solutions Class 9 English (Beehive (Prose))
The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 9 English (Beehive (Prose)) Chapter – 11 If I Were You has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.
Chapter – 11 (Reach for the If I Were You)
Thinking about the Text
I. Answer these questions.
1. “At last, a sympathetic audience.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does he say it?
(iii) Is he sarcastic or serious?
Answer –
(i) Gerrard says the given statement.
(ii) He says it when the intruder asks him to talk about himself.
(iii) He is sarcastic.
2. Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on?
Answer – The intruder is similar to Gerrard in build. He looked like him. After killing Gerrard, he wanted to impersonate him and get rid of the police. So, he chose Gerrard as his target.
3. “I said it with bullets.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) What does it mean?
(iii) Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?
Answer –
(i) Gerrard says the given statement.
(ii) It means that when he was in trouble, he shot someone to escape.
(iii) No, it is not the truth. Gerrard says this to manipulate the intruder so that he does not kill him.
4. What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play that support your answer.
Answer – Gerrard was a playwright. He says in the end of the play, “Sorry, I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal. I think I’ll put it in my next play.”
5. “You’ll soon stop being smart.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does the speaker say it?
(iii) What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?
Answer –
(i) The intruder says the given statement.
(ii) The intruder says this to scare Gerrard and know more about him.
(iii) The speaker intends to kill Gerrard. According to the speaker, when Gerrard gets to know that he came to Gerrard to kill him and steal his identity, he would become scared and stop being smart.
6. “They can’t hang me twice.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does the speaker say it?
Answer –
(i) The intruder says the given statement.
(ii) The speaker says this because he had already murdered someone. So, it is not a big deal for him to kill another man. He can’t be hanged twice.
7. “A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain?
Answer – The speaker proposes to explain the mystery about himself. He tells the intruder that he would not be able to lead a peaceful life even as Vincient Gerrard. This is because he himself is a criminal living an unstable life, being hunted by the police.
8. “This is your big surprise.”
(i) Where has this been said in the play?
(ii) What is the surprise?
Answer –
(i) This has been said twice in the play. On the first occasion, it is spoken by the intruder while revealing his plan to kill Gerrard. Secondly, it is spoken by Gerrard before he reveals his fictitious identity to the intruder.
(ii) The intruder’s surprise is his plan to kill Gerrard and take on his identity to lead a secure and hassle-free life. Whereas, Gerrard’s surprise is his fictitious identity, his way of refraining the intruder from killing him.
Thinking about Language
I. Consult your dictionary and choose the correct word from the pairs given in brackets.
1. The (site, cite) of the accident was (ghastly/ghostly).
2. Our college (principle/principal) is very strict.
3. I studied (continuously/continually) for eight hours.
4. The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on the traffic.
5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/artiste).
6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary (collage/college) of science fiction and mystery.
7. Our school will (host/hoist) an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well before using the contents.
Answer –
1. The site of the accident was ghastly.
2. Our college principal is very strict.
3. I studied continuously for eight hours.
4. The fog had an adverse effect on the traffic.
5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant artist.
6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary collage of science fiction and mystery.
7. Our school will host an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and shake well before using the contents.
II. Irony is when we say one thing but mean another, usually the opposite of what we say. When someone makes a mistake and you say, “Oh! that was clever!”, that is irony. You’re saying ‘clever‘ to mean ‘not clever’.
Expressions we often use in an ironic fashion are:
- Oh, wasn’t that clever!/Oh that was clever!
- You have been a great help, I must say!
- You’ve got yourself into a lovely mess, haven’t you?
- Oh, very funny!/ How funny!
We use a slightly different tone of voice when we use these words ironically.
Read the play carefully and find the words and expressions Gerrard uses in an ironic way. Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples have been given below. Write down three more such expressions along with what they really mean.
| What the author says | What he means |
| Why, this is a surprise, Mr—er— | He pretends that the intruder is a social visitor whom he is welcoming.In this way he hides his fear. |
| At last a sympathetic audience! | He pretends that the intruder wants to listen to him, whereas actually the intruder wants to find out information for his own use. |
Answer –
| What the author says | What he means |
| You have been so modest. | Gerrard says this to express how immodest the intruder has been by not talking about himself at all. |
| At last a sympathetic audience! | Gerrard says this sarcastically as the intruder is asking about Gerrard while holding a gun. |
| You won’t kill me for a very good reason. | Gerrard says this as if he has some ‘very good reason’ to be spared by the intruder. He says this so as to create a doubt in the intruder about killing him. |
