Say the Right Thing: NCERT Class 7 English Lesson (Poorvi)

etmantra3 Nov 20267 min read

Have you ever said something and wished at once that you could take it back? In this short, funny play, a girl promises her mother she will be polite to two important guests, and then every remark she makes lands on the wrong person. Children laugh at Mary's blunders and learn a lot about polite conversation, 'say' and 'tell', and word endings along the way.

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From NCERT’s new English book Poorvi for Class 7, unit “Wit and Humour”. Unit 2.

What your child learns

Following a funny play told through dialogue and stage directions
The difference between 'say' and 'tell', and pairs like see/look, hear/listen, live/stay
Suffixes: -ly, -ous, -ful, -ing, -ance, -er (gladly, humorous, beautiful, guidance)
Present perfect continuous (has been staying), kinds of sentences, and sentence stress

What the lesson is about

In Scene I, Mrs. Shaw is getting the room ready for two guests: Mrs. Harding, the wife of a wealthy banker who has just moved from London to a big house in Lanfield, and Mrs. Lee, Mr. Harding's sister. Mrs. Shaw wants to make friends with them. Her daughter Mary wants to stay and talk too. Her mother is worried, but she agrees and gives her advice: be kind, say things that please people, keep the talk going when everyone goes quiet, and when the guests want to leave, ask them, 'Must you go? Can't you stay?'

In Scene II, Mary tries hard but says the wrong thing every time. She praises Mrs. Harding's children, but Mrs. Harding has none. She laughs at a banker who travels to London by train and reads newspapers, and that is exactly what Mrs. Lee's brother does. She makes fun of a blue dress with a red coat, of women who stay in bed in the morning, of talkative women, of a dirty dog and of a man who loves horses, and each time one of the guests turns out to be just like that. The dog is even the Hardings' own dog, Towzer. When the guests finally get up to leave, Mary mixes up her mother's words and says, 'Oh, must you stay? Can't you go?'

New words, with Hindi meanings

hilariously: in a very funny way (हिंदी: बहुत मज़ेदार ढंग से)
blunder: a careless and silly mistake (हिंदी: भारी भूल)
embarrass: to make someone feel uncomfortable or shy (हिंदी: शर्मिंदा करना)
wealthy: having a lot of money (हिंदी: अमीर, धनी)
guidance: advice about what to do (हिंदी: मार्गदर्शन, सलाह)
gladly: happily, with pleasure (हिंदी: ख़ुशी से)
banker: a person who works in or runs a bank (हिंदी: बैंक वाला, बैंकर)
talkative: liking to talk a lot (हिंदी: बातूनी)
practise: to do something again and again to get better at it (हिंदी: अभ्यास करना)
polite: speaking and behaving kindly and with respect (हिंदी: विनम्र)

Talk about it

Ask these aloud after reading or watching. Let your child answer in English if they can, or mix in their home language. Both help.

Why did Mrs. Shaw want Mary to go out for a walk instead of meeting the guests?
What advice did Mrs. Shaw give Mary about what to say when the guests wanted to leave?
Why did Mrs. Harding feel unhappy when Mary talked about the dog outside the window?
What did Mary say at the very end, and why is it funny?
Have you ever said something to a guest or a friend that came out wrong? What did you do?

Answers for parents

She was afraid that Mary would not say the right thing. Mary always talked too much, and Mrs. Shaw wanted to make a good impression on Mrs. Harding.
She told Mary to look sorry and ask them to stay a little longer by saying, 'Must you go? Can't you stay?'
Mary said the dog was always dirty and asked why its owner didn't keep it clean. But the dog was Towzer, the Hardings' own dog.
She said, 'Oh, must you stay? Can't you go?' She mixed up her mother's words, so the polite request became a rude one, and it showed she really wanted them to leave.
For example: Once I told my aunt her new haircut looked strange. She looked sad, so I said sorry and told her the colour looked nice.

Grammar corner: Using 'say' and 'tell'

'Say' is about the words or the message, and it does not need a listener after it: 'Say thank you.' 'Tell' is about the person who hears the message, so it usually has a listener right after it: 'Tell me the answer.' We say 'say something to someone', but 'tell someone something'.

Mary said that she could talk very well.
Mrs. Shaw told Mary to put her coat away.
Please tell the guests that tea is ready, and say good afternoon to them.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank with 'say' or 'tell': Can you ___ me the name of Mrs. Harding's dog?
Add a suffix to make a new word: beauty + ful = ___, quiet + ly = ___, guide + ance = ___.
Make one sentence using 'has been' or 'have been' + an -ing word about a guest at your home.

Answers: 1. tell (Towzer) · 2. beautiful, quietly, guidance · 3. Sample: My grandmother has been staying with us since Diwali.

Try this

Play 'Oops, Mary!'. One person is the guest and thinks of a secret about themselves, such as 'I love cats' or 'I wear a red cap'. The other person is Mary and must say something kind about cats or caps without knowing the secret. Then swap and try the opposite: say the polite goodbye lines the right way round, 'Must you go? Can't you stay?', and then the wrong way, like Mary, and laugh at how different they sound.

Tip for parents

Ask your child in Hindi first: 'जब घर पर मेहमान आते हैं तो हम क्या-क्या कहते हैं? "आइए, बैठिए", "पानी लीजिए"... इन्हें अंग्रेज़ी में कैसे बोलेंगे?' Let your child answer in Hindi or a mix, then help them make each line in English, such as 'Please come in and sit down' or 'Would you like some water?'. Practise these together the next time someone visits, and praise every polite try, even with a mistake.

Questions parents ask

What is the play Say the Right Thing about?

It is a funny play by G.C. Thornley. Mary promises her mother she will be polite to two guests, Mrs. Harding and Mrs. Lee, but every remark she makes upsets one of them, and at the end she asks them, 'Must you stay? Can't you go?'

Who are the characters in Say the Right Thing?

Mary Shaw, a young girl; Mrs. Shaw, her mother; Mrs. Harding, the wife of a wealthy man, Mr. Harding; and Mrs. Lee, Mr. Harding's married sister.

Is Say the Right Thing in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 6 of NCERT's new Poorvi book for Class 7, in Unit 2 (Wit and Humour).

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Every chapter of Poorvi, NCERT’s new Class 7 book, with notes in English and Hindi, say-it-aloud practice with a score, listening, grammar, speaking and writing with feedback. ₹1,599 for the whole year.

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