The story revolves around a boy who struggles with being punctual for breakfast, often arriving late. His father is insistent that all the children be on time, and praises George, the only son who always is, even giving him a reliable nickel watch with the ............................
Father teaches me to be prompt - Expressions English - Class 8 - English
Renews every month. Cancel anytime
Back Questions - Father teaches me to be prompt | Expressions English | Class 8 Literature | English
The narrator is compared with his brother George. Who draws this compassion and why?
The narrator (Clarence) is compared with his brother George in terms of punctuality. George is always on time for breakfast, while Clarence struggles with tardiness. The comparison is drawn to highlight their contrasting abilities to be prompt, emphasizing that Clarence has room for improvement when it comes to punctuality. Additionally, George's inclination towards punctuality earns him the reliable nickel watch, which becomes Clarence's motivation to reform and be more punctual.
Powered by Chatterbot AI
George had his own reason for being prompt. Identify it.
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Mother tried to convince that the narrator would improve if he was rewarded. Did father agree? Pick lines from the story to support your answer.
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Did Mother’s gift pleas the narrator? What did she tell him about it?
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓How was George rewarded for being prompt?
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓On whom did the narrator rely for the maintenance of his watch? When did he stop doing that?
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓What happened when the narrator told mother that he didn’t want to wear the watch anymore?
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓The narrator had finally earned the watch his father had kept for him. Justify.
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓What did Mother feel about the nickel watch?
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓‘I had no money for marbles. In some way that I didn't fully understand, I was yoked to a watch I now hated - a delicate thing that would always make trouble, unless I learnt to live gingerly.’
- a. Who had given ‘him’ the watch?
- b. What ‘trouble’ did it make?
- c. How had it changed ‘his’ life?
- d. Why couldn’t he return it to the owner?
- e. Find a word from the passage that means ‘tied down’.
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓‘Her parting shot at Father was that anyhow she had been right; she had said all along that a watch was what I needed to teach me how to be prompt’.
- a. Who made the parting shot?
- b. Had the watch actually made the narrator prompt?
- c. What did ‘she’ try to prove with her parting shot?
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Father was angry with the narrator because he didn't play the piano well.
- a. he didn't play the piano well
- b. he didn't eat his breakfast
- c. he was never prompt
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Who else was often late?
- a. Mother
- b. All the other brothers, except George
- c. George
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓The watch that Mother gave the narrator belonged to
- a. his cousin
- b. her cousin
- c. Father
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓For months, the narrator had no money for marbles because
- a. he spent all his money on getting the watch repaired
- b. he had saved money to buy a nickel watch
- c. his Father never gave him any pocket money
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓What kept reminding the narrator about his resolution?
- a. The crystal of the gold watch breaking every now and then
- b. His Mother's love and concern
- c. Father's anger
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓In a very humorous manner Clarence Day tells us that George could not play the piano well.
Pick out similar descriptions or statements from the text and write.
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Give reasons for the following statements.
- a. Father was always pleased with George, even if he didn't play the piano well.
- b. Being the eldest son, the narrator deserved to get the watch first. Father thought otherwise.
- c. Mother gave the narrator a watch. The watch and the narrator were not made for each other.
- d. The narrator was reduced to the necessity of paying for damaging the watch himself.
- e. The narrator began to hate the watch his Mother gave him.
- f. The narrator envied George.
- g. When Father presented the much-awaited and desired watch to the narrator, his happiness knew no bounds.
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Imagine you are the narrator of the story you just read. Describe your feelings through a diary entry when your brother got the watch you had always been waiting for. You may write in 120 words about all the different things that came to your mind - about George, Father, and about yourself.
Keep the following in mind while writing.
- Focus on your feelings and slowly put into words what you wish to convey.
- Write and include as many details in describing your feelings. Make good use of colorful and vivid adjectives and adverbs.
- Imagine you are painting a picture on a canvas.
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Complete the paragraph by filling in appropriate prepositions.
The narrator’s father was annoyed with him and it was (a) _________________ a good reason. The narrator was never prompt. George was always before time and won his father’s appreciation. George was given a beautiful watch with his name engraved on it. The narrator burned with envy but knew that he was (b) _________________ fault and no one else was to be blamed for him not receiving a watch like George did. He had to earn it. The narrator’s mother was (c) _________________ good terms with him and out of sympathy gave him an old gold watch. It was painfully delicate (d) _________________ design and it wasn’t the kind of watch the narrator had been waiting (e) _________________ anticipation of. Nevertheless, he wore and every time he walked out of the house, he returned with the watch damaged. (f) _________________ times, he felt frustrated and helpless. He couldn’t even discard it and felt he was (g) _________________ a mess. Finally, he decided that the only way he could get rid of it and earn a good watch from his father was to be prompt. Sometimes, he thought it wasn’t worth working on being punctual, but (h) _________________ second thoughts, a little pain would bring much gain. The situation was no longer (i) _________________ of his control. He had made up his mind to earn the watch with his name engraved on it (j) _________________ virtue of his hardwork and determination
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Match the following columns:
- The father, _______________ often lost his temper when a. the laziest of all brothers
his sons weren’t prompt enough. - The narrator, _______________ never reached the b. an heirloom
breakfast table on time. - George, _______________ received the watch with c. a punctual person
his name engraved on it. - The mother gave the narrator a gold watch, _____________. d. a curse of great possessions
- The gold watch, _______________ became a living thought e. the lucky one
to the narrator.
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Now look at the images, write a noun phrase followed by an appositive phrase to frame a meaningful sentence. One’s been done as an example.
1. Noun phrase: a music academy
appositive phrase: the best in the neighbourhood
sentence: Sheila had joined a music academy, the best in the neighbourhood.
2. Noun phrase: ____________________________________________________________
appositive phrase: ________________________________________________________
sentence: _______________________________________________________________
3. Noun phrase: ____________________________________________________________
appositive phrase: ________________________________________________________
sentence: _______________________________________________________________
4. Noun phrase: ____________________________________________________________
appositive phrase: ________________________________________________________
sentence: _______________________________________________________________
5. Noun phrase: ____________________________________________________________
appositive phrase: ________________________________________________________
sentence: _______________________________________________________________
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Extra Questions - Father teaches me to be prompt | Expressions English | Class 8 Literature | English
Who should have got the watch first? But why did he not get it?
The narrator, Clarence, should have received the watch first since he was the eldest child in the family. However, he did not get it because of his chronic issues with punctuality. His father decided to withhold the watch until Clarence improved his punctuality and demonstrated that he had earned the gift.
Powered by Chatterbot AI
Describe the watch that mother had given.
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓How did Mother react when the narrator didn't want to wear the gold watch anymore?
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Extra Questions and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Back Exercises - Father teaches me to be prompt | Expressions English | Class 8 Literature | English
Look at the actions given below. Find these in the story and understand the context in which these have been used. Then use these in sentences of your own.
- Slide into the room ______________________________________________
- hammered out the ______________________________________________
- shouted indignantly ______________________________________________
- ate heartily ______________________________________________
- live gingerly ______________________________________________
a. In the story, the character 'Samantha' slid into the room to join the party.
My younger brother likes to slide into the living room with his socks on the wooden floor.
b. In the story, the character 'Marco' hammered out the details for their next project.
The blacksmith hammered out a beautiful piece of art for the competition.
c. In the story, the character 'Laura' shouted indignantly at her boss for being unfair to her colleague.
He shouted indignantly at the referee for making a wrong call during the game.
d. In the story, the characters ate heartily and enjoyed the feast.
After my long run, I always eat heartily to refuel my body.
e. In the story, the character 'David' lived gingerly after his accident and took extra precautions.
She walked gingerly on the slippery floor to avoid falling.
Complete the paragraph by filling in bold appropriate prepositions.
The narrator’s father was annoyed with him and it was (a) _________________ a good reason. The narrator was never prompt. George was always before time and won his father’s appreciation. George was given a beautiful watch with his name engraved on it. The narrator burned with envy but knew that he was (b) _________________ fault and no one else was to be blamed for him not receiving a watch like George did. He had to earn it. The narrator’s mother was (c) _________________ good terms with him and out of sympathy gave him an old gold watch. It was painfully delicate (d) _________________ design and it wasn’t the kind of watch the narrator had been waiting (e) _________________ anticipation of. Nevertheless, he wore and every time he walked out of the house, he returned with the watch damaged. (f) _________________ times, he felt frustrated and helpless. He couldn’t even discard it and felt he was (g) _________________ a mess. Finally, he decided that the only way he could get rid of it and earn a good watch from his father was to be prompt. Sometimes, he thought it wasn’t worth working on being punctual, but (h) _________________ second thoughts, a little pain would bring much gain. The situation was no longer (i) _________________ of his control. He had made up his mind to earn the watch with his name engraved on it (j) _________________ virtue of his hardwork and determination
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Exercises and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Match the following columns:
- The father, _______________ often lost his temper when a. the laziest of all brothers
his sons weren’t prompt enough. - The narrator, _______________ never reached the b. an heirloom
breakfast table on time. - George, _______________ received the watch with c. a punctual person
his name engraved on it. - The mother gave the narrator a gold watch, _____________. d. a curse of great possessions
- The gold watch, _______________ became a living thought e. the lucky one
to the narrator.
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Exercises and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Now look at the images, write a noun phrase followed by an appositive phrase to frame a meaningful sentence. One’s been done as an example.
1. Noun phrase: a music academy
appositive phrase: the best in the neighbourhood
sentence: Sheila had joined a music academy, the best in the neighbourhood.
2. Noun phrase: ____________________________________________________________
appositive phrase: ________________________________________________________
sentence: _______________________________________________________________
3. Noun phrase: ____________________________________________________________
appositive phrase: ________________________________________________________
sentence: _______________________________________________________________
4. Noun phrase: ____________________________________________________________
appositive phrase: ________________________________________________________
sentence: _______________________________________________________________
5. Noun phrase: ____________________________________________________________
appositive phrase: ________________________________________________________
sentence: _______________________________________________________________
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Back Exercises and everything else
Unlock now 🔓We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Line-by-line explanation in Hindi and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Quiz - Father teaches me to be prompt | Expressions English | Class 8 Literature | English
About the Author - Father teaches me to be prompt | Expressions English | Class 8 Literature | English
The author of this story is Clarence Day, an American writer born in 1874 and best known for his autobiographical works. Day grew up in a well-to-do family in New York City and his stories often revolved around his experiences growing up and his loving, yet humorous, portrayal of his family members and their quirks. Some of his notable works include "Life with Father" and "Life with Mother," which were later adapted into stage plays and films. Despite suffering from chronic health issues, Day continued writing throughout his life, and his work is characterized by its warmth, humour, and keen observation of human nature. He passed away in 1935.
Summary - Father teaches me to be prompt | Expressions English | Class 8 Literature | English
Unlock the full summary
Themes - Father teaches me to be prompt | Expressions English | Class 8 Literature | English
1. The Value of Punctuality:
The chapter underlines the significance of punctuality and the ways it was instilled in the narrator by his father. The father's insistence on his sons being on time for breakfast indicates his efforts to teach them responsibility and discipline. His actions also demonstrate his belief in the importance of earning privileges (like the engraved watch) through consistent and reliable behaviour.
2. Family Dynamics and Interactions:
The story vividly depicts the dynamics within the family. George's clever way of signalling the baseball results to his siblings highlights their bond ...
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Themes and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Plot - Father teaches me to be prompt | Expressions English | Class 8 Literature | English
1. Introduction and Family Routine:
The story opens with the family routine of breakfast time, highlighting the father's insistence on punctuality and introducing George as the only son who consistently adheres to this rule. The significance of the piano music code George uses to inform his brothers about baseball results is also introduced.
2. The Delicate Gold Watch:
The conflict begins....
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Plot and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Important Lines - Father teaches me to be prompt | Expressions English | Class 8 Literature | English
- "Father made a great point of our getting down to breakfast on time."
This line is important as it sets the theme for the entire narrative. It emphasizes the father's insistence on punctuality, which is a driving force for the events and learning experiences that follow in the story. - "George got down so early, Father pointed out to me, that he even had time to practise a few minutes on the piano."
This line not only characterizes George as punctual and reliable but also introduces the ingenious signal system he devises....
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Important Lines and everything else
Unlock now 🔓Vocabulary - Father teaches me to be prompt | Expressions English | Class 8 Literature | English
- Prompt: quick or ready to act or respond
He was quick to respond to her call for help. - Reliable: that may be relied on; dependable
The reliable mechanic fixed my car in no time. - Thumped: to strike with a dull sound
She thumped the door in frustration. - Rendered: performed
The actor rendered................................
We've got so much more in store, just for you! 🤩
Sign up to unlock Vocabulary and everything else
Unlock now 🔓