If I Were You – NCERT Solutions

Q. Gerrard lives alone in a lonely cottage. An intruder, who is a criminal, enters his cottage. He intends to murder Gerrard and take on his identity. Does he succeed?

Ans. He doesn’t succeed. Gerrard understands his intention. He outsmarts him and saves himself in the end.

Q. The following words and phrases occur in the play. Do you know their meanings? Match them with the meanings given, to find out.

1. cultured
2. count on
3. engaged
4. melodramatic
5. to be smart
6. inflection
7. wise guy
8. a dandy bus
9. tradespeople
10. gratuitous
11. dodge
12. lucky break
13. Sunday-school teacher
14. frame
1. an informal expression for a fashionable vehicle
2. unnecessary and usually harmful
3. exaggerated
4. sophisticated; well-mannered
5. here, a tone of voice
6. avoid
7. an unexpected opportunity for success
8. trap
9. a Christian religious teacher who teaches on Sundays in Church
10. (American English) a person who pretends to know a lot
11. depend on; rely on
12. (American English) an informal way of saying that one is being too clever
13. occupied; busy
14. merchants

Answer

  1. cultured: sophisticated; well-mannered
  2. count on: depend on; rely on
  3. engaged: occupied; busy
  4. melodramatic: unnecessary and usually harmful
  5. to be smart: (American English) a person who pretends to know a lot
  6. inflexion: here, a tone of voice
  7. wise guy: (American English) an informal way of saying that one is being too clever
  8. a dandy bus: an informal expression for a fashionable vehicle
  9. tradespeople: merchants
  10. gratuitous: exaggerated
  11. dodge: avoid lucky break: an unexpected opportunity for success
  12. Sunday-school teacher: A Christian religious teacher who teaches on Sundays in Church
  13. frame: trap

Q. “At last a sympathetic audience.”

  1. Who says this?
  2. Why does he say it?
  3. Is he sarcastic or serious?

Answer

  1. Gerrard says this.
  2. He says this because the intruder becomes sympathetic towards him.
  3. He is, no doubt, sarcastic.

Q. Why does the intruder choose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on?

Ans. The intruder chose Gerrard as the man whose identity he wants to take on because he is a kind of a mystery man. He phones his orders and sometimes go away suddenly and come back just the same.

Q. “I said it with bullets.”

  1. Who says this?
  2. What does it mean?
  3. Is it the truth? What is the speaker’s reason for saying this?

Answer

  1. Gerrard says this.
  2. It means that he is not an ordinary person. He is very dangerous.
  3. No, he wants that the intruder should change his idea of killing him

Q. What is Gerrard’s profession? Quote the parts of the play that support your answer.

Ans. Gerrard is a dramatist. He says, “Sorry I can’t let you have the props in time for rehearsal…’

Q. “You’ll soon stop being smart.”

  1. Who says this?
  2. Why does the speaker say it?
  3. What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?

Answer

  1. The intruder says this.
  2. He says it because Gerrard does not seem afraid of his gun even.
  3. According to the speaker, the bullet will stop Gerrard from being smart.

Q. “They can’t hang me twice.”

  1. Who says this?
  2. Why does the speaker say it?

Answer

  1. The intruder says this.
  2. The speaker says it because he wants to murder Gerrard. And he has already murdered someone. So the police cannot hang him twice

Q. “A mystery I propose to explain.” What is the mystery the speaker proposes to explain?

Ans. The speaker wants that the intruder should explain what mystery is associated with him. The mystery is about Gerrard’s placing his orders on telephone. And he goes out suddenly and returns in the same way.

Q. “This is your big surprise.”

  1. Where has this been said in the play?
  2. What is the surprise?

Answer

  1. Gerrard speaks this line. He tells the intruder that if he is not hanged for his murder, he will certainly be hanged being Vincent Charles Gerrard. At this time he utters these words.
  2. The big surprise is that Gerrard will not be killed by him. He is right in saying this.

Q. Consult your dictionary and choose the correct word from the pairs given in brackets.

  1. The (site, cite) of the accident was (ghastly/ghostly).
  2. Our college (principle/principal) is very strict.
  3. I studied (continuously/continually) for eight hours.
  4. The fog had an adverse (affect/effect) on the traffic.
  5. Cezanne, the famous French painter, was a brilliant (artist/artiste).
  6. The book that you gave me yesterday is an extraordinary (collage/college) of science fiction and mystery.
  7. Our school will (host/hoist) an exhibition on cruelty to animals and wildlife conservation.
  8. Screw the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle and (shake/shape) well before using the contents.

Answer

  1. site, ghastly
  2. principal
  3. continuously
  4. effect
  5. artist
  6. collage
  7. host
  8. shake

Q. Read the play carefully and find the words and expressions Gerrard uses in an ironic way. Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples have been given below. Write down three such expressions along with what they really mean.

What the author says What he means
Why, this is a surprise, Mr – er – He pretends that the intruder is a social visitor whom he is welcoming. In this way he hides his fear.
At last a sympathetic audience! He pretends that the intruder wants to listen to him, whereas actually the intruder wants to find out information for his own use.

Answer

What the author says What he means
At last a sympathetic audience! Gerrard means that his company is not a sympathetic audience because the intruder has got a gun in his hand.
You won’t kill me for a very good reason. Gerrard is just pretending to have a good reason even though there is none.
With you figuring so largely in it, that is understandable Gerrard means that it is not understandable how anything about him is ‘surprising’.
You have been so modest. Gerrard means that the intruder has been immodest in not having told anything about himself.

Q. Look up the dictionary entries for the words sympathy, familiarity, comfort, care, and surprise. Use the information given in the dictionary and complete the table.

Noun Adjective Adverb Verb Meaning
sympathy sympathetic sympathetically sympathize feeling pity for others
familiarity familiar familiarly familiarize to know/to have knowledge about things
comfort comfortable comfortably comfort state being free from suffering etc.
care caring carefully care concerned
surprise surprising surprisingly surprise amaze

Q. Which of the words below describe Gerrard and which describe the Intruder?

smart, humorous, clever, beautiful, cool, confident, flashy, witty, nonchalant

Write a paragraph each about Gerrard and the Intruder to show what qualities they have. (You can use some of the words given above.)

Ans. Gerrard was smart, humorous, confident, witty and clever. He was cool. When the intruder broke into his cottage, he did not lose his patience and confidence. He cooked up a story, convinced the intruder and got rid of him. He showed his intelligence and presence of mind. He was nonchalant also. The intruder was smart, beautiful, flashy, clever and confident. He collected much information about Gerrard and planned his visit meticulously. He wears flashy clothes. He has the ability to make someone afraid of him. Moreover he is witty and answers Gerrard’s questions intelligently and sarcastically.

Q. Convert the play into a story (150–200 words). Your story should be as exciting and as witty as the play. Provide a suitable title to it.

Ans. Gerrard is a dramatist who lives in a cottage. A very few people come to visit him. He rarely goes out. If he goes out, he comes back suddenly. Once an intruder enters his cottage who has a gun in his hands. Gerrard receives him with a warm welcome. The intruder asks many questions to him about his personal life. He answers his queries intelligently and thoughtfully. The intruder tells him that he wants to use his identity because he is being chased by police as he has murdered a cop. But Gerrard tells him that he will not be benefitted by killing him as he is also wanted. And he expects the police there tonight to arrest him. So he asks him to run with him in the car. But when they are about to cross the door, Gerrard pushes him into the cupboard and slams it. Then he calls the police and gets him arrested.

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