NCERT Solutions Class 4 English Chapter 10 the Swing

F R E E S T U D Y M AT E R I A L F O R E V E R Y S T U D E N T

CLASS 4 · ENGLISH

NCERT Solutions

Chapter 10: The Swing

NCERT Textbook — Santoor

BOOK PAGES SECTIONS QUESTIONS MEDIUM

103 – 110 12 26 English

Solutions, notes, sample papers & more at 31 pages

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

CLASS 4 · ENGLISH · SANTOOR

NCERT Solutions — Chapter 10: The Swing
Chapter 10 of Santoor opens Unit 4, Up High. The Swing is a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. It has three
stanzas of four lines each. A child on a swing goes up, looks far over the wall at rivers, trees and cattle, then
comes down over the green garden and the brown roof. The rest of the chapter grows out of that one ride —
you make sentences longer and longer, find words like swing that are both a verb and a noun, say a tongue
twister for the ‘W’ sound, list rhyming words, write about your free time, and fill place words into a garden
picture.

TEXTBOOK BOOK PAGES

Santoor (Class 4) 103 – 110

SECTIONS QUESTIONS

12 26

MEDIUM

English

Let us Recite — Page 103
The Swing (poem) · Robert Louis Stevenson

LET US RECITE

Poem Let us Recite — The Swing. Read the poem aloud and enjoy it.

Here is the whole poem. Read it aloud twice. The second time, swing your hand forward on the
“up” lines and back on the “down” lines.

Page 1 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing,
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all,

Over the countryside.

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown,

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

— Robert Louis Stevenson

What each stanza says:

1. Stanza 1. The poet asks, “Do you like going up in a swing?” Then he gives his own answer.
Going up into the blue air on a swing is the nicest thing any child can do.
2. Stanza 2. At the top of the swing he goes higher than the garden wall. From up there he can
see very far. He sees rivers, trees and cattle, spread over the whole countryside.
3. Stanza 3. As the swing comes down, he looks down at the green garden and the brown roof
of the house. Then the swing carries him up once more, and down again.

Page 2 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The rhyme scheme — how the lines are paired: In each stanza the first line
rhymes with the third, and the second line rhymes with the fourth. We can write this
pattern as a b a b.

STANZA LINES 1 AND 3 LINES 2 AND 4

1 swing — thing blue — do

2 wall — all wide — countryside

3 green — again (these two only nearly match) brown — down

Rhyme is about sound, not spelling. Blue and do are spelt quite differently, but both
end with the sound “oo”.

How to say it aloud:

Say the long first line in one breath, then take a small breath at the comma.
Line 1 of stanza 1 is a question. Let your voice go up at “so blue?”
Say “Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing” in a happy, excited voice.
In stanza 2, say “Rivers and trees and cattle and all” slowly. Name each thing
clearly, as if you can really see it.
Say every “Up” a little louder and a little higher. Say every “down” lower and softer.
The last line ends with ‘!’. Finish it with a big, happy push, and then stop.

Did you notice? The words “up in the air” come four times in this short poem.
Saying them again and again makes us feel the swing going up, again and again.

Look at the picture on page 103: A boy in a red shirt sits on a wooden swing tied
with yellow ropes to a big tree branch. He is swinging out over a low stone wall. On
the other side of the wall a girl stands beside her wheelchair, smiling up at him.
Behind them you can see a red tiled roof, small houses, green fields and cows. A bee
and a butterfly fly near the flowers. The picture shows exactly what the poem
describes — a child high up, with the countryside spread out below.

New Words — Page 104

Page 3 of 31

as e
Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

pleasantest · cattle · countryside
co m
e m.
m as
NEW WORDS

.co a g l
a s em
gl
New Words: pleasantest, cattle, countryside. Find out what each new word means.
a
NW

c om ag

These are the three words the book puts in m .
a s e the New Words box on page 104. All three come

agl
from the poem itself.

om
WORD WHAT IT MEANS THE LINE IT COMES FROM

. c
a s empleasantest
com
“Oh, I do think it the

agl
pleasantest the most enjoyable of all

. thing,”

a s em
agl
cattle cows, bulls and buffaloes kept by people “Rivers and trees and cattle and all,”

s
“Over the countryside.”
a
countryside the open land outside a town, with fields and
m
.co agl
villages

se m
g l a
a
Sentences of my own, to show how they are used:

Sitting under the neem tree is the pleasantest part of my day.

co m
.
The cattle walked home slowly in the evening.

e m
as
My grandmother lives in the countryside, near a river.
m l
.co a
m pleasantest ends in –est: Pleasant means nice. Pleasanter means nicer than
g
a s eWhy
agl one other thing. Pleasantest means the nicest of all. The ending –est always says
“the most” — tall, taller, tallest.
se m
com g l a
m . a
e
as say “one cattle” or “cattles”. The word already means
g l
Careful with cattle: We never
many animals. We say aa cow for one animal, and cattle for the whole group.

co m
m .
as e
comThink — Page 104
Let .us
a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 4 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

A. Answer the following.

LET US THINK

A.1 1. What does the poet see when the swing goes over the wall?

When the swing goes over the wall, the poet sees rivers, trees and cattle, spread out over the
countryside.
The poem says:

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all,

Over the countryside.

Why he can see so much: A wall stops our eyes when we stand on the ground. The
swing lifts the child above the wall. From up there nothing blocks the view, so he can
see far and wide.

Tip: In the next stanza he sees two more things, but those are things he looks down
on — “the garden green” and “the roof so brown”. The rivers, trees and cattle are the
far-away things he sees over the wall.

A.2 2. Does the poet enjoy swings? Which lines tell us that?

Yes, the poet enjoys swings very much.
These lines tell us that:

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing,

Ever a child can do!

He calls swinging the pleasantest thing — that means the most enjoyable thing of all. He does
not say it about one child. He says ever a child can do, so he means all children.

Page 5 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The last two lines show his joy again:

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

Why these lines prove it: Three small things give the joy away. The word “Oh” at
the start, like a happy shout. The word “flying”, because flying is a thing we all long
to do. And the exclamation mark at the end of both stanzas.

A.3 3. “Up in the air so blue”
Why do you think the poet says the air is blue?

The poet says the air is blue because the sky above him looks blue.
When the swing goes up, the child is not looking at the ground. He is looking straight into the
wide open sky. The whole sky around him is blue, so the air itself seems blue to him.

Why he says it this way: Air has no colour at all. We cannot even see it. But a poet
writes what a thing feels like, not only what it is. Flying up into all that blue feels like
moving through blue air. So he calls it “the air so blue”.

Did you know? Sunlight is made of many colours mixed together. The tiny bits of air
spread the blue light all around the sky. That is why the sky looks blue to us on a
clear day.

Try this: Lie down on your back in an open field and look straight up. You will see
nothing but blue. Now you know what the poet felt on the swing.

Let us Think — Page 104

Page 6 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

B. Think and discuss.

THINK AND DISCUSS

B.1 1. Have you seen a swing? Where have you seen it? What was it made of?

This question is about your own life, so your true answer is the right one. Nobody can write it
for you.
How to answer — three sentences:

1. Say yes or no, and where you saw the swing.
2. Say what the swing was made of — ropes, iron chains, wood, plastic, an old tyre.
3. Say one thing about it — who was on it, or how it felt.

Children see swings in many places: a park, a school playground, a village banyan or mango
tree, a temple fair, a courtyard at home, or a baby’s cloth cradle.

Sample answer: Yes, I have seen a swing. There is one in the park near my house.
Its seat is a flat wooden plank and it hangs from two iron chains. My little sister sits
on it and I push her gently.

Another sample answer: In my grandmother’s village there is a swing on the
mango tree. It is made of thick coir rope and an old tyre. In the month of Sawan,
everyone takes a turn on it.

Why the book asks about the material: A swing must hold your whole weight. So it
is always made of something strong — rope, chain, wood or iron. Looking at how a
thing is made teaches you to look carefully.

B.2 2. What would you like to see when you are up in the air on a swing?

Name two or three things you would like to see from high up. Then say why you chose them.
What a good answer has:

things that are really around your home, school or village;
or things you dream of seeing — the sea, snowy hills, an aeroplane;
one line saying why you want to see them.

Page 7 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Sample answer: When I am up in the air on a swing, I would like to see the fields
behind my school. I would like to see my house and the temple roof. I would also like
to see the birds flying at the same height as me. From up there, everything below
looks small and new.

How this joins the poem: The poet saw “rivers and trees and cattle and all”. He saw
the ordinary things of his own place. Your list can be ordinary too — height is what
makes them look wonderful.

Look at the picture beside this question (page 104): A girl in a red frock is
swinging high. She holds the two ropes and laughs out loud. Around her the book
has drawn clouds and green leaves flying past. She is enjoying exactly what the
poem describes.

Let us Learn — Pages 104–105
Stringing together.

LET US LEARN

L.1 Stringing together.
Jeevan waited.
Jeevan waited for the bus.
Jeevan waited for the bus all morning.
Jeevan waited for the bus all morning in the rain.
Jeevan waited for the bus all morning in the rain because his scooter was in the
garage being repaired.
Frame a set of sentences as shown in the example. Make sure that each sentence is
longer than the previous one.

Look at what happens in the book’s example. The sentence never changes — it only grows. Each
time, one new piece of news is added at the end.

Page 8 of 31

as e
Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
SENTENCE WHAT THE NEW PIECE TELLS US

m as e
Jeevan waited.
.co a
who, and what he did
g l
se m
g l a
a
Jeevan waited for the bus. what he waited for

Jeevan waited for the bus all morning. how long

co m
m . ag
se
Jeevan waited for the bus all morning in the rain. where, and in what weather

l a
ag repaired.
… because his scooter was in the garage being why

How to make your own set:
co m
em.
comthe action was done to. l as
1. Start with a short sentence of two words — a name and an action.

. a g
emwhen or how long.
2. Add what

a s
agl4. Add where.
3. Add

a s
comthen does each one become longer than the
5. Last, add why, using the word because.

Copy the whole sentence again each time..Only
em agl
a s
agl
last.

m
Model answer — set 1:
. co
e m
m l as
.co a g
Meera read.

a s emMeera read a story.
agl Meera read a story after school.
se m
com g l a
.
Meera read a story after school under the neem tree.
m a
ase
agl
Meera read a story after school under the neem tree because her friend had given her the

book.

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 9 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Model answer — set 2:

Arjun ran.

Arjun ran to the ground.

Arjun ran to the ground in the evening.

Arjun ran to the ground in the evening with his new ball.

Arjun ran to the ground in the evening with his new ball because his team was waiting

for him.

Why this is worth doing: A short sentence tells us very little. Each extra piece
answers one more question — what, when, where, why. That is how a writer turns a
bare sentence into a full picture.

Tip: Do not join two different stories with and. That only makes the sentence long,
not fuller. Add news about the same happening every time.

Let us Listen — Pages 105–106
Circle the verbs and underline the nouns. One has been done for you.

LET US LISTEN

A Now, read the following sentences. Circle the verbs and underline the nouns. One
has been done for you.
A. Word: dance
The dance begins in an hour.
My friends and I dance when we are happy.

This one is done for you in the book. It shows you the pattern for B, C, D and E.

SENTENCE WHAT ‘DANCE’ IS DOING MARK IT

The dance begins in an hour. a naming word (noun) underline it

My friends and I (dance) when we are happy. an action word (verb) circle it

Page 10 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

In the first sentence, dance is the name of a programme that will begin in an hour. A naming
word is a noun.
In the second sentence, dance is what my friends and I do. A doing word is a verb.

How to tell them apart: Ask two little questions. “Can I put the or a in front of it?” —
the dance works, so there it is a noun. “Is somebody doing it?” — we dance works, so
there it is a verb. The same word does two different jobs.

Note about the book’s marking: The book marks only the word it is teaching,
dance. The sentences hold other nouns and verbs too — friends and hour are nouns,
and begins is a verb. You may mark those as well for extra practice.

Remember the poem: The chapter starts this lesson with “I swing on a swing.” The
first swing is the action. The second swing is the thing you sit on.

B Now, read the following sentences. Circle the verbs and underline the nouns. One
has been done for you.
B. Word: play
I like to play kho-kho.
We are going to watch a play tomorrow.

SENTENCE ‘PLAY’ IS A … MARK IT

I like to (play) kho-kho. verb circle it

We are going to watch a play tomorrow. noun underline it

In the first sentence, play is something I do on the ground. So it is a verb.
In the second sentence, a play is a story acted on a stage. It is a thing we go to watch. So it is a
noun.

The clue: Look at the tiny word just before it. “to play” points to an action. “a play”
points to a thing. To before a word usually shows a verb; a or the usually shows a
noun.

Other words in these sentences: kho-kho and tomorrow are nouns. like and watch
are verbs.

Page 11 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Your own sentences: Our class will play kabaddi today. · The school play begins at four o’clock.

C Now, read the following sentences. Circle the verbs and underline the nouns. One
has been done for you.
C. Word: answer
Can you answer the questions?
I know the answer.

SENTENCE ‘ANSWER’ IS A … MARK IT

Can you (answer) the questions? verb circle it

I know the answer. noun underline it

In the first sentence, answer means to reply. It is something you do, so it is a verb.
In the second sentence, the answer is the reply itself — the thing you know. So it is a noun.

Why one word can do both jobs: English often uses the same word for the action
and for the result of that action. You answer (action), and what comes out is an
answer (thing).

Other words in these sentences: questions is a noun, and know is a verb.

Your own sentences: Please answer my letter soon. · Her answer was short and clear.

D Now, read the following sentences. Circle the verbs and underline the nouns. One
has been done for you.
D. Word: fly
There is a fly on the wall.
My friends fly kites on 15th August.

SENTENCE ‘FLY’ IS A … MARK IT

There is a fly on the wall. noun underline it

My friends (fly) kites on 15th August. verb circle it

Page 12 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

In the first sentence, a fly is the small insect sitting on the wall. It is a thing, so it is a noun.
In the second sentence, fly is what my friends do with their kites. So it is a verb.

The clue again: “a fly” has a in front, so it names one insect. In “My friends fly kites”,
somebody is doing it, so it is an action.

Other words in these sentences: wall, friends, kites and August are all nouns. is is a
verb too.

Look at the picture on page 106: A boy and a girl are running on the grass and
flying kites. One kite is purple and one is yellow. 15th August is our Independence
Day, and kite flying is part of the fun.

Your own sentences: A fly sat on my plate. · Birds fly back to their nests at sunset.

E Now, read the following sentences. Circle the verbs and underline the nouns. One
has been done for you.
E. Word: waves
The waves did not let us finish our sandcastle.
She waves to her siblings while leaving for school.

SENTENCE ‘WAVES’ IS A … MARK IT

The waves did not let us finish our sandcastle. noun underline it

She (waves) to her siblings while leaving for school. verb circle it

In the first sentence, waves are the rolling lines of sea water that washed the sandcastle away.
They are things, so the word is a noun.
In the second sentence, waves is what she does with her hand to say goodbye. So it is a verb.

Why the –s is not the same in both: In “the waves”, the –s means more than one
wave. In “She waves”, the –s is there because we say she waves, not she wave. The
same letter does two different jobs.

Other words in these sentences: sandcastle, siblings and school are nouns. finish
and leaving are verbs.

Page 13 of 31

as e
Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Word meaning: Your siblings are your brothers and sisters.

o m l a se
.c a gwaves at me from the
m
Your own sentences: The waves were very high that evening. · My father
gate. se
a
agl
All five words together:
co m
em
. ag
WORD
a
AS A NOUN (A NAMING WORD)
s AS A VERB (AN ACTION WORD)

swing the seat you sit on agl to move forward and backward

co m
m.
dance a dance programme to dance

m a play on a stage as e
play
.co
to play a game
a g l
a s em
agl
answer the reply to reply

s
fly the insect to move in the air

m a
m .co agl
se
waves sea waves to move the hand in greeting

g l a
a

c o m
A note about this box: The book prints this verb-and-noun work under the heading
.
Let us Listen on page 105, and prints a second Let us Listen on pagem107. This first one
o m l a se
.c
is really reading and marking work, not listening work.
a g
se m
a
agl
se m
Let us Speak — Page 107
com g l a
m . a
ase
Read aloud the following tongue twister.

LET US SPEAK
agl
Read aloud the following tongue twister.
. c om
emcould chuck wood?
a

m
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck
a s
m .co a) Now, read aloud the tongue twister by making anag‘O’l shape with your lips while
l a se pronouncing the ‘W’ sound. Repeat it 4–5 times.

ag
.c
s e m
m a
. co agl
This is a speaking task. You must say it aloud, not read it silently.
e m
How to do it:
g l as
a
1. First say the line very slowly, one word at a time.

co m
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 14 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

2. Before each ‘W’ word, make your lips into a small round O, as if you were going to blow out a
candle.
3. Say it again, a little faster. Keep the lips round every time.
4. Repeat it four or five times, faster each time, without making a mistake.

The ‘W’ words in the line are: wood, would, woodchuck, woodchuck, wood.

Why the lips must be round: The /w/ sound is made only with the lips. They come
together in a small circle and then open. If your lips stay flat, /w/ turns into /v/, and
“wood” starts sounding like “vood”.

Tip: Put your hand in front of your mouth. When you say “wood” correctly, you feel a
tiny puff of air on your palm.

Did you know? A woodchuck is a small brown animal that digs burrows in the
ground. Chuck here means to throw. So the line asks a funny question: if a
woodchuck could throw wood, how much would it throw? It is a joke question, and
nobody has to answer it — it is only for practising the sound.

b b) Read aloud the following words. Remember to make an ‘O’ shape with your
mouth while pronouncing ‘W’.
fever fewer valley white vine wise win wait vet wet

Read all ten words aloud. Five of them begin with the /w/ sound and five with the /v/ sound.

WORDS WITH THE ‘W’ SOUND WORDS WITH THE ‘V’ SOUND

fewer, white, wise, win, wait, wet fever, valley, vine, vet

How to make each sound:

/w/ — round your lips into an O. The teeth do not touch anything. Say wet, win, wait.
/v/ — put your upper teeth on your lower lip and let the air buzz out. Say vet, vine, valley.

Say these pairs one after the other. Only the first sound changes:

Page 15 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

/V/ WORD /W/ WORD

fever fewer

vet wet

vine wine

Why this matters: The two sounds change the whole meaning. Fever is an illness;
fewer means a smaller number. A vet is an animal doctor; wet means not dry. One
wrong lip shape can change your sentence completely.

Check it yourself: Hold one finger lightly on your lower lip. For /v/ you will feel your
teeth press on the finger. For /w/ you will feel nothing but the round lips moving.

Tip: Say the word list slowly twice, then a little faster. Ask a friend to listen and tell
you which word he heard, vet or wet.

Let us Listen — Pages 107–108

Page 16 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Make a list of words that rhyme.

LET US LISTEN

R.1 Your teacher will read out the poem again. Listen carefully and make a list of words
that rhyme. You may add two more words of your choice as well.

RHYMING WORDS IN ‘THE SWING’ MY WORDS

swing-thing ring, king

Two words rhyme when their ending sound is the same. The first row, swing-thing, is filled in for
you. Here is the table completed.

RHYMING WORDS IN ‘THE SWING’ MY WORDS

swing – thing ring, king

blue – do new, two

wall – all ball, tall

wide – countryside ride, side

brown – down town, crown

Where each pair comes from:

swing ends line 1 and thing ends line 3 of stanza 1.
blue ends line 2 and do ends line 4 of stanza 1.
wall ends line 1 and all ends line 3 of stanza 2.
wide ends line 2 and countryside ends line 4 of stanza 2.
brown ends line 2 and down ends line 4 of stanza 3.

Page 17 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why rhyme is about sound, not spelling: Blue and do look nothing alike, but both
end with the sound “oo”. Wide and countryside both end with “ide”. Close your eyes
and listen only to the last bit of the word.

One pair to notice: In stanza 3, line 1 ends with green and line 3 ends with again.
These two do not rhyme fully. They only come close. Poets are allowed to do this
now and then.

Tip: For “My words”, keep the ending and change the first letter. From all you get b-
all, t-all, c-all, f-all, w-all, sm-all.

Let us Write — Page 108
1. Write a short paragraph about the activities you enjoy doing in your free time

LET US WRITE

W.1 I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
The word ‘pleasantest’ means enjoyable. There are many things that people enjoy
doing.
1. Write a short paragraph about the activities you enjoy doing in your free time

This is your own paragraph, so the things in it must be true for you. Five or six short sentences
are enough.
The plan — what to put in each sentence:

1. Sentence 1: When your free time comes — after school, in the evening, on Sunday.
2. Sentence 2: The activity you enjoy most.
3. Sentence 3: Where you do it and who is with you.
4. Sentence 4: One more activity you enjoy.
5. Sentence 5: Why these things make you happy.

Model answer:
I get my free time after school every evening. The thing I enjoy most is riding my
bicycle. I ride it in the lane with my cousin till the street lights come on. On Sundays I
like to draw animals with my colour pencils. I also help my grandmother water her
plants. These small things make me happy, and the day feels pleasant.

Page 18 of 31

as e
Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Words you may use: enjoy, free time, hobby, evening, holiday, favourite, happy,

m as e
l
pleasant, together.
.co a g
a s em
gl the word ‘pleasantest’ starts this task: The poet found his happiness in one
aWhy
simple thing — a swing. The book now asks what your simple happy thing is. It need

com
ag
not be big or costly. A game in the lane counts.
m .
l a se
aga capital letter and end it with a full stop. Use I like or
Tip: Begin every sentence with
I enjoy for things you do again and again.

co m
em.
m l as
.co
m — Page 109
Let useWrite a g
a s
agl
m a s
m .co agl
l a se
a g

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a
se m
com g l a
m . a
ase
agl

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 19 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

2. Look at the picture carefully. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions from the box.

LET US WRITE

P.1 2. Look at the picture carefully. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions from the
box.
Word box: on, beside, between, above, infront of, behind, under
1. There is a ladybug ........................... the two flower pots.

The picture printed on page 109 of your book: two flower pots in a garden, with a
butterfly, a honeybee, a ladybug, an ant, a caterpillar, a watering can, grass and two
fallen leaves.

There is a ladybug between the two flower pots.
Look at the ground in the middle of the picture. The little red ladybug with black spots is walking
there. One flower pot is on its left and the other flower pot is on its right.

Why between: We use between when something has two things, one on each side.
The sentence itself says “the two flower pots”, so between is the only word that fits.

Tip: If the blank is followed by two things, or by two names joined with and, the
answer is almost always between.

Page 20 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Your own sentence: My seat is between Ravi and Sara.

P.2 2. Look at the picture carefully. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions from the
box.
Word box: on, beside, between, above, infront of, behind, under
2. A butterfly is flying ........................... the flower.

The picture printed on page 109 of your book: two flower pots in a garden, with a
butterfly, a honeybee, a ladybug, an ant, a caterpillar, a watering can, grass and two
fallen leaves.

A butterfly is flying above the flower.
The pink butterfly is at the top of the picture. It is flying in the air, higher than the yellow flowers
of the left plant. It is not touching them.

Why above and not on: Above means higher up, with a gap in between. On means
touching the top of something. The butterfly is still in the air, so it is above the flower.

Tip — the opposite pair: above and below go together, just like up and down. The
butterfly is above the flower, so the flower is below the butterfly.

Your own sentence: The fan turns above my bed.

Page 21 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

P.3 2. Look at the picture carefully. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions from the
box.
Word box: on, beside, between, above, infront of, behind, under
3. A honeybee is sitting ........................... the flower.

The picture printed on page 109 of your book: two flower pots in a garden, with a
butterfly, a honeybee, a ladybug, an ant, a caterpillar, a watering can, grass and two
fallen leaves.

A honeybee is sitting on the flower.
Look at the right-hand plant. The brown-and-yellow honeybee is resting right on top of one
yellow flower. Its feet are touching the petals.

Why on: On means touching the top of something. The bee is not flying and not
hidden. It has landed on the flower, so on is the correct word.

Did you know? A honeybee sits on a flower to drink its sweet nectar. While it sits,
yellow pollen sticks to its legs and travels to the next flower. That is how bees help
plants make seeds.

Your own sentence: My book is on the table.

Page 22 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

P.4 2. Look at the picture carefully. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions from the
box.
Word box: on, beside, between, above, infront of, behind, under
4. The watercan is ........................... the flower pots.

The picture printed on page 109 of your book: two flower pots in a garden, with a
butterfly, a honeybee, a ladybug, an ant, a caterpillar, a watering can, grass and two
fallen leaves.

The watercan is behind the flower pots.
The blue watering can stands at the right side of the picture. Part of it is hidden by the flower
pot in front of it. We can see only its top, its handle and its long spout.

Why behind: When one thing hides part of another, the hidden one is at the back.
The pot hides part of the watering can, so the can is behind the pots.

Tip — the opposite pair: behind and in front of are opposites. The watering can is
behind the pot, so the pot is in front of the watering can.

Your own sentence: The cat is hiding behind the door.

Page 23 of 31

as e
Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
2. Look at the picture carefully. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions from the
e
P.5

comon, beside, between, above, infront of, behind, under
box.
Word .box: g l as
e m a
s
gla
5. An ant is walking ........................... the leaf.
a

co m
e m . ag
g l as
a

co m
e m.
m l as
m .co a g
l a se
ag
m a s
m .co agl
l a se
a g
m
The picture printed on page 109 of your book: two flower pots in a garden, with a

. co
butterfly, a honeybee, a ladybug, an ant, a caterpillar, a watering can, grass and two

e m
com as
fallen leaves.

. a g l
m
ase
agl ANSWER
se m
An ant is walking under the leaf.
com g l a
m . a
e
Look at the bottom left of the picture. A big dry leaf has fallen on the grass. One end of it is

g l
lifted a little. The small brown antasis walking beneath that lifted leaf.
a
m
Why under: Under means below something, with that thing over your head. The leaf
. co
m
is over the ant like a little roof, so the ant is under it.

m ase
.co a g l
se m Tip — under or below? Both mean lower down. We usually say under when one thing
g l a
a covers the other, as the leaf covers the ant. We say below when they are simply at
c
m .
e
different heights.

om a s
e
. c
m under the bed. agl
s
Your own sentence: My shoes are
a
agl

co m
m .
m as e
.co


a g l Page 24 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

P.6 2. Look at the picture carefully. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions from the
box.
Word box: on, beside, between, above, infront of, behind, under
6. A caterpillar is walking ........................... a flowerpot.

The picture printed on page 109 of your book: two flower pots in a garden, with a
butterfly, a honeybee, a ladybug, an ant, a caterpillar, a watering can, grass and two
fallen leaves.

A caterpillar is walking beside a flowerpot.
The fat green caterpillar is at the bottom right of the picture. It is crawling along the grass, close
to the right flower pot and at its side.

Why beside: Beside means next to, at the side of one thing. The caterpillar is not
above the pot, not under it and not behind it. It is simply next to it.

Careful: Do not mix up beside and between. Beside needs only one thing to be next
to. Between needs two things, one on each side.

Your own sentence: My brother sits beside me in the bus.

Page 25 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

P.7 2. Look at the picture carefully. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions from the
box.
Word box: on, beside, between, above, infront of, behind, under
7. A leaf has fallen ........................... the flower pot.

The picture printed on page 109 of your book: two flower pots in a garden, with a
butterfly, a honeybee, a ladybug, an ant, a caterpillar, a watering can, grass and two
fallen leaves.

A leaf has fallen infront of the flower pot.
The big yellow-green leaf lies on the grass at the bottom of the picture. It is nearer to us than
the pot, and it is drawn below the pot, so the pot is behind it.

Why in front of: In a picture, whatever is drawn lower down is nearer to us. The
fallen leaf is drawn lower than the pot, so it lies in front of the pot. It is also the only
word left in the box, and every other blank already has its own word.

A spelling error in the book: The word box on page 109 prints infront of as one
word. The correct English spelling is in front of — three separate words. Write it as
in front of in your notebook.

Page 26 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

All seven answers together:

SENTENCE ANSWER

1. There is a ladybug ___ the two flower pots. between

2. A butterfly is flying ___ the flower. above

3. A honeybee is sitting ___ the flower. on

4. The watercan is ___ the flower pots. behind

5. An ant is walking ___ the leaf. under

6. A caterpillar is walking ___ a flowerpot. beside

7. A leaf has fallen ___ the flower pot. in front of

Each word from the box is used exactly once.

Your own sentence: The dog sat in front of the gate.

Let us Do — Page 110
Swings of Imagination

LET US DO

D.1 Swings of Imagination
Draw a magical swing that can take you anywhere (outer space, a jungle, a book
world). Then, write a short paragraph about the adventure.

This is a drawing and writing task. First the picture, then the story of your ride.
Step 1 — draw your magical swing (in the box on page 110):

1. Draw the swing first — the seat and the two ropes.
2. Show what the ropes are tied to. A star? A cloud? A giant tree? A rainbow?
3. Draw yourself sitting on it, with a big smile.
4. Fill the space around it with the place you have gone to — planets, tall jungle trees, or the
pages of an open book.
5. Colour it brightly.

Step 2 — write four or five sentences. Each one answers a question:

Page 27 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Where did the swing take you?
What did you see there?
What did you do, or who did you meet?
How did you feel?
How did you come back?

Model answer — a swing to outer space:
My magical swing is tied to two bright stars. One evening it went up and did not
stop. It carried me past the moon, and I saw the Earth turning like a blue ball. A
small comet rushed by and I waved at it. I felt light and a little scared, but very
happy. When I said “home”, the swing brought me down into my own garden.

Model answer — a swing to the jungle:
My magical swing hangs from a huge banyan tree. It swung me into a thick green
jungle. I saw a herd of elephants drinking at a pond. A parrot sat on the rope and
talked to me. The tiger looked up, but the swing lifted me high in time. I came back
with a red jungle flower in my hand.

How this comes from the poem: The poet’s real swing showed him rivers, trees and
cattle. A magical swing can show you anything at all. Both take you up high — and
that is the name of this unit.

Tip: Write the paragraph in the past — went, saw, felt, came back. It is an adventure
that has already happened to you.

A note about the book’s wording: Page 110 prints this task as “Ask students to
draw a magical swing…” Those words are meant for the teacher. The task for you is
simply: draw the swing, then write about the adventure.

Let us Explore — Page 110

Page 28 of 31

as e
Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Festivals and months in which people swing
co m
e m.
m as
LET US EXPLORE

.co a g l
a s em are some festivals or months in which people like swinging on swings. Collect
gl
There
a
E.1
some information about those festivals or months, and share it with the class.

co m
m . ag
l a se
agwebsite with an elder.
This is a find-out-and-tell task. Ask at home first — grandparents know these festivals best.
Then look in the library or on a news

m
What to collect about each festival: its name, the month, the state or region, and what people
co
m.
do with the swing.

as e
. com MONTH a g l
em
FESTIVAL WHERE WHAT HAPPENS

a s
aglHariyali Teej Sawan (July–
August)
Rajasthan, Haryana,
Uttar Pradesh, Punjab
Swings are hung from the trees. Women
in green clothes swing and sing Teej

m a s
.co agl
songs together.

a s em West
Vrindavan, Idols of Radha and Krishna are placed

gl Bengal, Odisha,
Jhulan Yatra Sawan (July–

a
August) on a beautifully decorated swing and
Manipur gently swung.

Raja Parba mid-June Odisha
. c om
Rope swings are tied to mango and

s e m swing on them and
m a
banyan trees. Girls

. co agl
sing songs.

seOnam m
l a
ag
Chingam Kerala Tall oonjal swings hang from big
(August– branches. Children take turns on them
September) during the ten days.
se m
com g l a
m . Bengal, Odisha, a
e
West The deity is placed on a swing, called a

as
Dol Purnima / Phalgun (March)

agl
Holi Assam dola, and rocked while people sing.

How to share it with the class:

co m
1. Choose one festival, so you can speak about it properly.
m .
as e
om
3..cSay where it is celebrated. g l
2. Say its name and its month in the first sentence.
a
a sem
agl
4. Say what people do on the swing.

.c
m
5. End with one line about your own family, if they celebrate it.

m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

com
m .
m ase
.co


a g l Page 29 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Sample answer: I found out about Hariyali Teej. It comes in the month of Sawan,
when the rains have made everything green. In Rajasthan and Haryana, people tie
swings to the big trees. Women wear green bangles, swing together and sing Teej
songs. My aunt says she swung on a neem tree swing in her village every Sawan.

Why so many swing festivals fall in Sawan: Sawan is the rainy month. The fields
are green and the air is cool after the hot summer. It is the pleasantest time to sit on
a swing under a tree — which is exactly what our poet felt.

Try this: Ask your grandmother or grandfather whether they had a swing when they
were children. Ask what it was made of, and where it was tied. Their answer is the
best information of all.

Chapter at a glance
Stanza 1 — the question and the answer. “How do you like to go up in a swing, / Up in the
air so blue?” The poet asks you how you like swinging. Then he answers himself: it is the
pleasantest thing a child can ever do.
Stanza 2 — the long view. “Up in the air and over the wall, / Till I can see so wide,” At the
top of the swing the child sees over the garden wall. He sees rivers, trees and cattle, all over
the countryside.
Stanza 3 — up and down again. “Till I look down on the garden green, / Down on the roof
so brown,” Coming down, the child looks at the green garden and the brown roof. Then he
flies up once more — “Up in the air and down!”
The sound of the poem. In every stanza the first line rhymes with the third, and the second
rhymes with the fourth — swing–thing, blue–do, wall–all, wide–countryside, brown–down.
New words. pleasantest (the most enjoyable), cattle (cows and buffaloes kept by people),
countryside (the open land outside a town, with fields and villages).
The rest of the chapter. Let us Think asks what the poet sees and why he calls the air blue.
Let us Learn is ‘Stringing together’ — making each sentence longer than the one before. Let
us Listen (page 105) has five words like swing, play and fly that work as a verb and as a noun.
Let us Speak is the woodchuck tongue twister for the ‘W’ sound. The second Let us Listen asks
for rhyming words. Let us Write has a paragraph on your free time and seven preposition
blanks about a garden picture. Let us Do is a magical swing, and Let us Explore is about
festivals in which people swing.

Page 30 of 31

Class 4 English Chapter 10 The Swing AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Quick revision

WORD WHAT IT MEANS WHERE IT COMES IN THE A SENTENCE OF YOUR
CHAPTER OWN

pleasantest The most enjoyable of all. “Oh, I do think it the A cold lassi is the
pleasantest thing,” (page 103) pleasantest drink in
summer.

cattle Cows, bulls and buffaloes “Rivers and trees and cattle and The cattle were drinking
kept by people. all,” (page 103) water at the pond.

countryside The open land outside a “Over the countryside.” (page We cycled through the quiet
town, with fields and 103) countryside on Sunday.
villages.

swing (verb) To move forward and “I swing on a swing.” (page 105) I swing gently on the rope
backward. swing.

swing (noun) The seat on ropes that you sit “The second ‘swing’ refers to an The swing in our park has a
on and swing. object.” (page 105) wooden seat.

verb An action word, like run or “an action word(verb)” (page In “Rahul kicks the ball”,
dance. 105) kicks is the verb.

noun A naming word — a person, “Circle the verbs and underline In “Rahul kicks the ball”, ball
a place or a thing. the nouns.” (page 105) is a noun.

tongue A line that is hard to say fast “How much wood would a We laughed while saying the
twister without a mistake. woodchuck chuck…” (page 107) new tongue twister.

rhyme Two words that end with the “make a list of words that ‘Swing’ and ‘thing’ rhyme
same sound. rhyme” (page 107) with each other.

preposition A place word like on, under “Fill in the blanks with suitable The ball is under the bench.
or behind. prepositions” (page 109)

between In the middle of two things. “There is a ladybug …… the two My school is between the
flower pots.” (page 109) bank and the post office.

beside Next to something, by its “A caterpillar is walking …… a Amma sat beside me on the
side. flowerpot.” (page 109) bus.

Page 31 of 31