The grammar questions from the chapter The Little Girl are answered here.

1. Use an appropriate word from the synonyms given above in the following sentences. Clues are given in brackets.

(glad, happy, pleased, delighted, thrilled and overjoyed)

1. She was thrilled with the news of her brother’s wedding. (very pleased)

2. I was overjoyed to be invited to the party. (extremely pleased and excited about)

3. She was delighted at the birth of her granddaughter. (extremely happy)

4. The coach was pleased with his performance. (satisfied about)

5. She was very happy with her results. (happy about something that has happened.)

2. Study the use of the word big in the following sentence. He was so big. Here big means large in size.

Now consult a dictionary and find out the meaning of big in the following sentences. The first one has been done for you.

(i) You are a big girl now – older

(ii) Today you are going to make the biggest decision of your career – the most significant

(iii) Their project is full of big ideas – great / innovative

(iv) Cricket is a big game in our country – very popular

(v) I am a big fan of Lata Mangeskar – ardent / huge

(vi) You have to cook a bit more as my friend is a big eater – voracious

(vii) What a big heart you’ve got. Father dear – generous / affectionate

Verbs of reporting

Underline the verbs of reporting in the following sentences. You can learn about common reporting verbs here.

1. He says he will enjoy the ride.

2. Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday.

3. No one told us that the shop was closed.

4. He answered that the price would go up.

5. I wondered why he was screaming.

6. Ben told her to wake him up.

7. Ratan apologized for coming late to the party.

Exercise

Some verbs of reporting are given in the box. Choose the appropriate verbs and fill in the blanks in the following sentences.

(were complaining, shouted, replied, remarked, ordered, suggested)

(i) ‘I am afraid,’ replied the woman.

(ii) ‘Leave me alone,’ my mother shouted.

(iii) The children were complaining that the roads were crowded and noisy.

(iv) ‘Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all,’ remarked the master.

(v) ‘Let’s go and look at the school ground,’ suggested the school teacher.

(vi) The traffic police ordered all the passers-by to keep off the road.