NCERT solutions for English Kaveri Class 9 chapter * - Words [Latest edition]

Why are words important? Can we communicate without words? How? Share your answers with your classmates and teacher.

Use the given sentences as clues to find words from the grid and fill the blanks. One example has been done for you.

My mother summoned me to introduce her friends.

Fill in the blanks with one word from the poem. One example has been done for you.

In this poem, the poet reflects that words fail to truly satisfy what the heart wants to convey. Words are compared to summer birds who 1. ______, leaving nothing behind. The heart, is equated to a 2. ______ who finds that words are as worthless as 3. ______ when needed. He feels that a few sincere words can bring more 4. ______ than many meaningless ones. He adds that a voice that brings happiness to a 5. ______ place does not say much, but the few words it does, are very precious. Moreover, if words could satisfy us, the 6. ______ would celebrate but words often fail to do that. The poem ends on the note that empty words may look impressive with lots of flowers, but they cannot produce anything valuable, like a 7. ______.

Read the poem again. Find any four sets of rhyming words and also write the rhyme scheme of the poem.

Read the following phrases and sentences taken from the poem. Identify the poetic device in each of them and explain what the poet wants to communicate through their usage.

1. But words, like summer birds, depart...
2. heart, a pilgrim upon earth...
3. words are of as little worth As just so many weed
4. If words could satisfy the chest... Oft satisfy the least!
5. The world might hold a feast...
6. Like plants that make a gaudy show All blossom to the root
7. But whose poor nature cannot grow One particle of fruit!

Which words are repeated in the poem? Why does the poet use repetition?

The stanzas 4, 5, and 6 end with exclamation marks. Choose the option that displays the emotions being expressed through them.

Identify examples of hyperbole from the given lines.

If words could satisfy the chest,
The world might hold a feast.

Work in pairs. Complete the sentence given below with hyperbole. Use the hints given in the bracket.

I have ______ things to do on this weekend. (lots of/tonnes of)

Work in pairs. Complete the sentence given below with hyperbole. Use the hints given in the bracket.

The player missed the basket by ______. (a mile/an inch)

Work in pairs. Complete the sentence given below with hyperbole. Use the hints given in the bracket.

My mother is so tired that she can sleep for a ______. (night/decade)

Work in pairs. Complete the sentence given below with hyperbole. Use the hints given in the bracket.

I will be back in ______. (five minutes/two seconds)

Rhythm gives a lyrical quality to a poem. The rhythm (pattern of beats) in a line of poetry is described by a metrical form. A metre is formed by a stressed and an unstressed syllable. Syllable is the name given to a single unit of speech/beats of spoken language.

The metrical form in the first four lines is given below. The stressed syllables have been underlined.

If words could sa tis fy the heart,
The heart might find less care;
But words, like sum mer birds, de part,
And leave but emp ty air.

Now, listen to the teacher read the poem. As you listen, underline the syllables that are stressed in all the lines of the poem. Share your answers with the teacher

Read the following lines and answer the questions.

(i) Why has the poet referred to the heart as ‘a pilgrim’?

(ii) When would a heart ‘need’ words?

(iii) Complete the sentence with an appropriate reason.

The words are like weeds because ______.

(iv) Mention two emotions the heart might be experiencing when it finds words to be of ‘little worth’.

(v) What do these lines suggest about the nature of communication?

Read the following lines and answer the questions.

(i) How can words ‘satisfy the chest’?

(ii) How can words be ‘summoned to the test’?

(iii) What does ‘the world’ holding ‘a feast’ imply?

(iv) Complete the sentence with an appropriate reason.

The poet mentions that words satisfy the least because ______.

(v) Select the word that does not mean the same as ‘oft’.

1. always
2. usually
3. frequently
4. often

What is the comparison that the poet draws between words and ‘empty air’?

According to the poet meaningful words are more precious than a lot of them. Explain.

Do you agree that the poet presents contrasting ideas related to ‘words’ in the poem? If yes, why? If no, why not?

The theme of loneliness hovers over the poem. Support this statement with examples from the text.

How does the poet convey the superficial nature of words? What ought to be done to address this?

The poet has used some figurative phrases. Match the phrases in Column 1 with their correct meanings in Column 2. Use each phrase in a sentence of your own.

Create a ‘Word Map’ for each of the words from the poem given in the box.

To complete the word map include:

• Meaning (in your own words)
• Synonyms of the word
• Antonyms of the word
• Sentence using the word
• A quick sketch or symbol that represents the word

You will listen to a conversation between a girl and a boy. As you listen, mark the following statement that is true.

The girl was excited to participate in the declamation contest.

You will listen to a conversation between a girl and a boy. As you listen, mark the following statement that is true.

The boy was doubtful about the suitability of the topic chosen for the contest.

You will listen to a conversation between a girl and a boy. As you listen, mark the following statement that is true.

The girl explained that people prefer to keep their personal experiences to themselves.

You will listen to a conversation between a girl and a boy. As you listen, mark the following statement that is true.

The boy was unaware of the role played by body language in reflecting the speaker’s confidence.

You will listen to a conversation between a girl and a boy. As you listen, mark the following statement that is true.

According to the girl, body language had an insignificant role to play in communication.

You will listen to a conversation between a girl and a boy. As you listen, mark the following statement that is true.

The girl had issued the book on body language earlier from the library.

Read the following quotations and select the one you like the most. Explain the quotation and share the reason for your choice with your classmates and teacher. You may talk about a connected personal experience too.

You may use the cues given below to state your choice and the reason.

1. I chose ______ because...
2. selected ______ since...
3. I decided on ______ due to...
4. I picked ______ as...
5. I settled for ______ because...

Write an essay on any one quotation from speaking activity. Follow the guidelines given below while drafting the essay.

In groups of six, follow the instructions to play the ‘Non-verbal’ game.

• Each student writes or makes an emoji with an expression on one slip and a gesture on the other.
• Jumble the slips and keep them upside down.
• Pick the slips in turns and enact it in 30 seconds.
• The person who can identify the expression or gesture first, gets 10 points.
• Continue it for two rounds and find the Non-verbal Champion.

For example, an expression to denote tired could be:

and a gesture to denote united could be:

This game is like Dumb Charades. Dumb Charades is a word-guessing game where players act out words, phrases, or movie titles using gestures and body language without speaking. One person acts, and their teammates try to guess what’s being mimed.

Do you know?

The French priest Charles-Michel de l’Épée (1712–89) is recognised as ‘The Father of Sign Language and Deaf Education’.

You must have read poems and songs in English and in your own language. Now, read and enjoy the poem given below.