A Question of Trust — Grammar Exercises
Two grammar exercises based on real NCERT sentences from this chapter. Practise the editing and gap-filling formats tested in CBSE Section B.
Exercise 1Editing / Error Correction
The sentence below has one grammatical error. Find the incorrect word and write the correction.
Show Answer & Explanation
The story narrates past events. 'Think' is the present tense form. The simple past of 'think' is 'thought' (irregular: think → thought → thought). The sentence sets up Horace's reputation at the beginning of the story — a past description. 'Everyone thought' = how they perceived him in the past.
Exercise 2Gap Filling
Choose the option that best fills the blank in the sentence below.
Show Answer & Explanation
The NCERT text says Horace Danby 'loved to collect rare, expensive books.' He committed one safe-robbery per year to fund his book collection. 'Rare' is the specific word — books that are difficult to find. 'Old', 'foreign', and 'stolen' are not mentioned in the text. This detail is important because it establishes Horace as a criminal with a surprising intellectual passion.
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