A Surprise for My Parents

My parents are in Shimla for a few days. They spent some time with my grandmother who was unwell.
They returned last night. My brother Ankit and I made dinner for them. We planned the meal. After a lot
of discussion, we decided to make vegetable pulao and raita.

We went to the weekly market and bought fresh vegetables for the pulao. We bought red carrots, tender green
beans, a small cauliflower, and a few baby potatoes. For the raita, we bought a cucumber. We had rice, oil,
onions, curd, and spices at home.

We washed the vegetables carefully. We soaked them in water as we had seen our mother doing. Ankit chopped
the vegetables. He cut his finger and it bled a little. Luckily, the knife was not very sharp. He cleaned the wound
and wrapped a strip of clean cloth around it. I cut the rest of the vegetables very carefully. I did not peel the potatoes.

I took out the biggest pot from the cupboard. In a tablespoon of oil, I fried the whole spices and the cumin seeds.
When the scent of the spices filled the kitchen, I added the sliced onions. I stirred everything until the onions
started to brown. Then I added the chopped vegetables. I fried them for a minute or two. Then I added two cups of
rice that I had washed beforehand. I stirred the rice until it was lightly toasted. Then I measured three cups of water
and poured it into the pot. When the water came to a boil, I lowered the heat and covered the pot with a lid.

I peeled and grated the cucumber. I whisked the curd. I added a little salt and a pinch of chilli powder and cumin
powder to the curd. I put the cucumber into the curd just before my family sat down to eat.

Our parents praised us for the meal. Ankit and I were very happy that we had made our parents proud.

A) Underline the verbs in the passage. The verbs are in the simple past tense.

B) Read out or write down the entire passage, changing all the verbs from the simple past tense to the simple present tense.

Example: My parents were in Shimla for a few days.
My parents are in Shimla for a few days.

C) Underline ‘the’, ‘a’, and ‘an’ in the passage. ‘The’ is a definite article and is used before a noun when the noun
is specific or particular. ‘A’ or ‘an’ is an indefinite article and is used before a noun that is general or non-specific.

Example: I gave a book (any book) to the boy (Ankit, or a particular boy).

D) Fill in the blanks with the simple past tense of the verb in brackets.

1. Last year, I ___ my summer holiday with my grandparents. (spend)
2. It ___ wonderful. (be)
3. We ___ Vinay Chacha. (visit)
4. Last December, he ___a motorcycle. (buy)
5. He ___ us on a ride on his motorcycle. (take)
6. I ___ scared, because he ___very fast. (be, ride)
7. In the evenings, we ___ for long walks. (go)
8. My cousin ___ me how to play the flute. (teach)
9. We ___ the names of the vegetables growing in the fields. (learn)
10. One day, we ___a lovely rainbow. (see)
11. We ___ a wonderful time. (have)

E) Fill in the blanks with the definite article ‘the’ or the indefinite articles ‘a’ or ‘an’.
Note: Use the indefinite article ‘an’ when the noun that follows begins with a vowel sound.

1. ___ child crossed the road. ___ child is my niece.
2. ___ earth is round.
3. ___ sun is shining.
4. Where are ___ boys? They are on ___ cricket field.
5. Do you want ___ orange? No, thanks.
6. Nikhil is __ college student.
7. ___Times of India is ___ English newspaper.
8. ___ Navbharat Times is ___ Hindi newspaper.
9. We saw ___ snake in ___ grass.
10. Natasha has ___ pet dog.

F) Optional Exercise
Yesterday some friends visited you. You made tea for them. Can you describe how you made the tea?
Use the simple past tense.

Audio courtesy Tanu Priya Puri