Say the Right Thing Questions & Answers | Class 7 English | CBSE NCERT

(b) — Mrs. Shaw explains that "Mrs. Harding and Mrs. Lee will soon be here, and they don't want to see that."

(b) — her irritated tone shows she resents being corrected, even though the charge is true.

(c) — Mrs. Shaw replies, "You leave your clothes all over the house."

True — she tidies the room because Mrs. Harding and Mrs. Lee "will soon be here."

Mary feels that her mother treats her like a small child by constantly telling her to put things away. She wants to be seen as grown-up and responsible, though her behaviour in the play suggests otherwise.

Yes, because Mary genuinely does leave her clothes all over the house, and guests are about to arrive. Reminding her is necessary; Mrs. Shaw's only worry is that the guests should not see a messy room.

(b) — Mrs. Shaw says, "She's the wife of a wealthy man, Mr. Harding. He has just bought a big house in Lanfield."

(c) — Mrs. Shaw states, "They lived in London before."

(a) — Mrs. Shaw explains, "She's Mr. Harding's sister. She has been staying with them for a while."

shop.

Mrs. Shaw met Mrs. Harding by chance in a shop and invited her to visit. They are not old friends yet — Mrs. Shaw is hoping to build a friendship, which is why she wants the visit to go well.

Mary is curious and eager to be part of the visit. Her many questions also reveal her habit of speaking her mind freely — the very trait that later lands her in trouble when she talks about the guests without knowing them.

(b) — she says, "One day you'll have to go to some of these houses yourself and talk to the people there."

(a) — she says bluntly, "You always talk too much. But does anyone want to hear the things that you say?"

(c) — Mary says, "I'll stay with you today and talk to them when they come."

walk.

Mary is sure she will speak well, but during the actual visit she says the wrong thing at every turn — she ends up offending both guests repeatedly. Her confidence is the opposite of her performance, which makes her boast ironic.

Mrs. Shaw knows from experience that Mary's loose talk can embarrass people. Since she wants to make a good impression on Mrs. Harding, she would rather Mary were safely out of the house during the visit.

(b) — Mrs. Shaw knows Mary's talk is thoughtless, and she fears Mary will spoil the visit with the guests.

(a) — Mary says she knows the right things to say: "'Good afternoon', 'How are you?' and things like that."

(a) — she says, "I want her to ask me to go to their house. There isn't much to do here in Lanfield, and I want to know some more people."

False — she says, "There isn't much to do here in Lanfield," which is why she wants new friends.

She means that Mary should think before she speaks and choose words that please the guests. One careless remark could spoil the new friendship Mrs. Shaw is trying hard to build with Mrs. Harding.

Mary believes conversation is only about knowing a few polite phrases like "Good afternoon" — "Anyone can talk," she says. She has no idea that good conversation also requires listening, tact and sensitivity to others' feelings, which is why she fails later.

(b) — she says, "you'll always be right if you're kind to people. Say things that will please them. Then they'll like you."

(b) — Mrs. Shaw says the guests "don't want to sit here and look at the floor without speaking," so Mary should think of something to say.

(c) — Mrs. Shaw warns her not to "jump out of your chair and look gladly at the door," but to look sorry when they want to leave.

laugh.

Conversation cannot be taught like a fixed script because no one can predict what will come up. So Mrs. Shaw gives Mary a principle instead — be kind and pleasing — which she must apply herself according to the situation.

Polite sentences work only if the feelings behind them are right. If we are genuinely kind, we naturally avoid hurting others with our words, whatever the topic. Mary, who relies on set phrases alone, shows that without kindness even rehearsed words come out wrong — as her final "Must you stay? Can't you go?" proves.

(a) — Mrs. Shaw teaches her the exact words: "Just say, 'Must you go? Can't you stay?' or something like that."

(b) — she says, "take your coat to your room and change into a clean dress. You must look nice when they come."

(b) — her last instruction is, "don't say anything that will make them angry."

True — she chants, "Must you go? Can't you stay? Must you go? Can't you stay?" to fix them in her memory (though she later mixes them up).

Saying a simple farewell line is not hard at all, yet Mary treats it like a great feat — and she still gets it wrong in the end. The gap between her confidence and her actual performance is what makes the claim comic.

Mrs. Shaw appears patient, practical and caring. She does not merely scold Mary for talking too much; she calmly explains who the guests are, gives her clear, sensible coaching on kindness and conversation, and still allows her to stay for the visit. Her repeated warnings show she knows her daughter well and worries for her.

(b) — Mary says, "I've often seen them walking along the road," having assumed the children belonged to Mrs. Harding.

(b) — she first says, "Oh, I haven't any children," and then, "(not very pleased) I have no children; believe me."

(b) — she says "(quietly) They must be someone else's children" and immediately brings up Mr. Best, a nice man living nearby.

London.

Mary insists — twice — that Mrs. Harding has a little boy and a little girl, when Mrs. Harding has no children at all. She argues with a guest about the guest's own family, which is both rude and embarrassing, and it touches a possibly painful subject.

Mary should have politely accepted the correction, said something like "I'm sorry, I must have mistaken them for your children," and changed the topic. Instead of arguing, a gracious apology would have saved everyone embarrassment.

(b) — she mocks that he "goes all the way to London by train every morning, and then he comes all the way back by train every night. He lives in trains!"

(b) — she says, "But he's only a banker, and bankers can't think."

(c) — she laughs at Mr. Best's way of life, declares such people "do not know how to live," and insults bankers — the opposite of her mother's advice to say kind things.

newspapers.

Mrs. Lee is hurt, because her brother is a banker. In the very next lines she says, "My brother's a banker. He goes to London by train every morning and comes back every night," which makes Mary apologise — "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Mrs. Shaw had said, "Say things that will please them... don't say anything that will make them angry." Yet here Mary laughs at a neighbour, calls his life senseless and insults his profession — proving that Mary speaks without thinking about whom her words might hurt.

(b) — after Mary insults bankers, Mrs. Shaw smoothly turns the talk to Mrs. Best, "a nice woman," hoping to steer the conversation to safety.

(b) — Mary laughs and says, "She goes out in a blue dress with a red coat over it."

(b) — Mrs. Harding says, "I have a blue dress, and I often put on my red coat at the same time," which means Mary has just laughed at the guest's own choice of clothes.

True — she says, "She's a nice woman. I like her."

First, she is mocking someone behind her back, which is unkind. Second, she unknowingly laughs at the very outfit the guest in front of her wears — a blue dress with a red coat — so her mockery lands directly on Mrs. Harding.

Remembering "say things that will please them," Mary could have agreed that Mrs. Best is a nice woman, or could have praised the colour combination instead of laughing. Even saying nothing at all would have been better than mocking a person's dress.

(b) — seeing that Mrs. Harding wears exactly that combination, Mrs. Shaw rushes to praise it so that the guest does not feel mocked.

(b) — Mary describes meeting Mrs. Cotter in the street, and complains that she "always stays in bed" in the morning and "always (asks) the doctor to go to see her."

(c) — Mrs. Harding says, "I stay in bed in the morning myself," and Mrs. Lee adds, "I often go to the doctor," leaving Mary embarrassed once again.

doctor.

Mary mocks two habits — staying in bed in the morning and often visiting the doctor — and it turns out that Mrs. Harding does the first and Mrs. Lee does the second. So with a single speech she manages to insult both her guests at once.

It indicates an awkward, embarrassed silence. Everyone has understood that Mary has blundered again, and no one knows what to say — the exact opposite of the cheerful, flowing conversation Mrs. Shaw wanted.

(a) — Mrs. Shaw introduces her as "one of my best friends."

(b) — Mary says, "Talkative women aren't very interesting, are they?" — which offends Mrs. Lee, whose mother is very talkative.

(b) — Mrs. Harding says, "Yes, I've seen it. That's Towzer. It's our dog."

red-faced (the stage direction says "with a red face").

She calls the dog dirty and asks "Who wants a dog?" and "Why do people keep dogs?" — only to learn that it is Towzer, Mrs. Harding's own pet. She has called the guest's beloved dog unwanted and unclean, which is both hurtful and impossible to take back.

It shows she has no sense of her audience. She assumes everyone shares her dislike and even asks the guests to agree with her — the exact opposite of her mother's rule to "say things that will please them." A good conversationalist would first discover what the others feel before expressing strong opinions.

(b) — she complains, "He's always talking about horses. He rides a horse every day, and practises shooting. Why must he do that?"

(b) — Mrs. Lee says her brother practises shooting when he has time, rides his horse when he can, and sold his London house to live in Lanfield for those very reasons — so Mary has mocked him too.

(c) — the stage direction says she is "unable to say the right thing even now" and she reverses her mother's teaching: "Oh, must you stay? Can't you go?" — asking the guests to hurry up and leave.

longer.

Both ladies say it was "very nice" to have a talk, but each time the stage direction reads "(She looks at Mary)" — a pointed glance showing that Mary's behaviour is the reason they decide it is "getting a little late" and they must go.

Mary had one simple line to remember — "Must you go? Can't you stay?" — and she had chanted it all afternoon. At the crucial moment she says its exact opposite, "Must you stay? Can't you go?", which is not just a slip but actually rude, since it asks the guests to leave. Her failure on the easiest task of all completes the comedy of the play.

Mrs. Harding and Mrs. Lee are coming for a talk. Mrs. Shaw met Mrs. Harding in a shop and invited her, hoping to make new friends in Lanfield.

Mrs. Harding is the wife of Mr. Harding, a wealthy man who has just bought a big house in Lanfield; the family lived in London before. We also learn that she has no children, stays in bed in the morning, and owns a dog named Towzer.

Mrs. Lee is Mr. Harding's married sister. She has been staying with the Hardings for a while, and she is the one whose brother is a banker who also rides and practises shooting.

Mrs. Shaw wants Mrs. Harding to like her and invite her to their house. There is not much to do in Lanfield, so she wants to know more people and make some more friends there.

She says the guests should not have to sit and look at the floor without speaking, so one must say something to make them talk again. Later she adds that this "something" should be kind.

She tells Mary not to jump out of her chair and look gladly at the door when the guests are ready to leave. Instead, she must look sorry and say, "Must you go? Can't you stay?"

Mrs. Shaw feared that if Mary stayed, she might not say the right thing and would spoil the visit. Since she badly wanted to befriend Mrs. Harding, she thought it safer to send Mary out.

Mary compliments Mrs. Harding on her "beautiful children" whom she has seen walking along the road. Mrs. Harding has no children, and Mary even argues with her about it before her mother smooths things over.

Mary laughs at Mr. Best for travelling to London and back by train daily and declares that "bankers can't think." Mrs. Lee then reveals her brother is a banker, leaving Mary to apologise.

She says that bankers always have to read a lot of newspapers, and immediately brings up a new topic — Mrs. Best, "a nice woman" whom she likes — to draw attention away from Mary's insult.

Mrs. Harding quietly says she has a blue dress and often puts on her red coat at the same time. Mrs. Shaw quickly says she likes blue dresses and red coats, but a hurtful silence follows.

Mrs. Cotter is a woman Mary met in the street, who stays in bed in the mornings and often calls the doctor. Mary mocks both habits — and Mrs. Harding then says she stays in bed in the morning herself, while Mrs. Lee says she often goes to the doctor.

When Mrs. Shaw mentions her best friend Mrs. Grantley, Mary says she is "so talkative" and that talkative women are not very interesting. Mrs. Lee replies that her mother is a very talkative woman, and Mary has to apologise.

Towzer is the Hardings' dog. Looking out of the window, Mary calls it dirty, says she does not like dogs and asks who wants a dog — and then learns from Mrs. Harding that it is their own dog, which makes her go red with embarrassment.

She complains that Mr. Pomeroy is always talking about horses, rides every day and practises shooting, and wonders why some men like horses more than people. Mrs. Lee replies that her brother does exactly the same, having sold his London house for that very reason.

The guests get up to leave, and while Mrs. Shaw politely asks them to stay a little longer, Mary blurts out her rehearsed line the wrong way round — "Oh, must you stay? Can't you go?" — the final, funniest blunder of the play.

A blunder is a careless, embarrassing mistake. Mary's blunders are her careless remarks — praising children who do not exist, insulting bankers, clothes, morning lie-ins, doctors, talkative women, dogs and horse-riders — each of which happens to offend a guest.

She keeps changing the topic — to Mr. Best, Mrs. Best, Mrs. Grantley — to rescue the conversation after each of Mary's blunders. Her quick switches, like saying "Bankers always have to read a lot of newspapers," are attempts to cover her daughter's rudeness.

It signals an awkward silence after Mary has said something rude. Each time, the guests are too polite to reply and too offended to continue, which builds the comic tension of the play.

'Athithi Devo Bhava' means 'a guest is like God' — guests deserve respect and courtesy. The play reflects this through Mrs. Shaw, who prepares the room, dresses Mary nicely and teaches her to be kind and pleasing to guests; Mary's blunders show the opposite of this ideal.

Mary thinks that a person who travels to London and back by train every day "lives in trains" and does not "know how to live." She also believes that reading newspapers instead of books makes a person shallow, and that "bankers can't think." Her viewpoint is narrow and uncharitable: she judges other people's honest ways of life as foolish simply because they are different from her own, and she generalises rudely about a whole profession.

Mary believes that being able to talk is the same as being able to converse well — "Anyone can talk," she says. She treats conversation as an opportunity to air her opinions, not as an exchange that requires listening, tact and empathy. She never pauses to think who might be hurt by her words, even repeating "I didn't know" after each blunder. The play shows that she has not understood her mother's core lesson: conversation is about kindness, not just speech.

The repeated direction marks moments of painful, awkward silence. Each of Mary's remarks lands like a small explosion, and the guests — too well-mannered to protest — fall silent instead. The silences grow heavier as the visit continues: after the clothes remark, after Mrs. Cotter, after Mrs. Grantley, after Towzer. The atmosphere turns stiff and uncomfortable, exactly the opposite of the friendly, lively chat Mrs. Shaw had planned, and the silences warn the audience that the visit is heading towards disaster.

At the start Mary is overconfident, even boastful — she insists she can talk "very well" and has "often done harder things than this." During the visit, each blunder punctures that confidence: she goes from arguing about the children, to repeated apologies ("Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know"), to blushing "with a red face" over Towzer, to near silence with only a fresh blunder at the end. By the close, the once-fluent Mary is embarrassed and flustered, mumbling her goodbyes inside out — from cocky hostess to humbled girl.

Both ladies show remarkable restraint and dignity. They never scold Mary or return rudeness for rudeness; instead they reply with calm, pointed facts — "I have no children; believe me," "My brother's a banker," "I often go to the doctor," "That's Towzer. It's our dog." Their answers are firm enough to make Mary realise her mistakes, yet polite enough to keep the peace. Their looks at Mary when leaving, however, show that they noticed everything. They emerge as patient, well-mannered women who refuse to be provoked, even when repeatedly insulted.

The play is a comic lesson in the value of tact. Because Mary cannot converse politely, the visit is one long chain of embarrassments — every topic she touches wounds a guest, and the friendly talk Mrs. Shaw wanted collapses into awkward silences. The guests leave earlier than they might have, glancing pointedly at Mary, and Mrs. Shaw's hope of a new friendship is badly damaged. Through Mary's failure, the play demonstrates that polite conversation — thinking before speaking, being kind, pleasing others — is what keeps social life pleasant and friendships alive.

The humour works mainly through dramatic irony and repetition. The audience, like Mrs. Shaw, knows exactly what Mary has been taught, so every blunder is twice as funny because we saw it coming. The pattern is repeated with perfect regularity: Mary makes a mocking remark, and a guest replies with a fact that shows the remark applies to herself or her family. The comedy builds to a climax when Mary, who has been rehearsing one simple line all afternoon, inverts it into "Must you stay? Can't you go?" The gap between Mrs. Shaw's careful coaching and Mary's performance is the engine of the play's laughter.

The title is the exact lesson Mrs. Shaw tries to teach Mary — and the exact thing Mary fails to do. Mrs. Shaw warns, "If you stay with me, you may not say the right thing," and coaches her on kind and pleasing words. Every comic disaster in the play happens because Mary says the wrong thing, and even her final, memorised sentence comes out the wrong way round. The title thus sums up both the mother's advice and the daughter's failure, and gently reminds the reader to think before speaking.

First, Mary should have thought before speaking — pausing to consider whether a remark might hurt someone, instead of blurting out every opinion about neighbours and their habits. Second, she should have followed her mother's golden rule and found kind, pleasing things to say — agreeing that Mrs. Best is nice, or admiring Towzer rather than calling him dirty. Third, she should have listened more and talked less, letting the guests speak about themselves. Above all, when she did not know something — like whose children she had seen or whose dog it was — she should have asked politely rather than assuming and arguing.

I would have tried to do what Mrs. Shaw does, but sooner and more smoothly. When Mary praised the non-existent children, I would have immediately steered the talk to Lanfield and how pretty the area was. After the banker remark, I could have asked Mrs. Lee about her journey, so that guests could talk about themselves. I might also have quietly involved Mary in serving tea, giving her less opportunity to comment on people, and later gently reminded her of her mother's rule — be kind first, speak second.

Mary Shaw is a well-meaning but hopelessly tactless young girl — the comic heart of the play. She is talkative and overconfident: she boasts, "I can talk very well when I like," claims that "anyone can talk," and promises, "I'll show you," as if politeness were a party trick. She is careless in thought: she never once considers whether her words might wound, and every one of her opinions — about bankers who "can't think," talkative women who "aren't very interesting," or dogs ("Who wants a dog?") — is blurted out in front of people it offends. She is argumentative: even when Mrs. Harding says she has no children, Mary insists, "Oh, yes, you have! I've seen them." Yet Mary is not wicked, only unthinking: after each blunder she says "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know," and over Towzer she turns red-faced with genuine shame. Her final line — "Oh, must you stay? Can't you go?" — the exact reverse of her mother's teaching, shows that even one rehearsed sentence is beyond her. In short, Mary is a lively, honest but tactless girl whose tongue runs far ahead of her judgement.

Mrs. Shaw is a sensible, socially aware and patient mother. She is conscientious about her home and guests: she cleans the room, plans for Mrs. Harding and Mrs. Lee, and insists that Mary "change into a clean dress" to look nice. She is honest in assessing her daughter — she tells Mary frankly, "You always talk too much. But does anyone want to hear the things that you say?" — yet she is also fair and trusting, for when Mary begs to stay, she allows her to, with the warning "take care." She is a wise teacher of manners: her golden rule — "you'll always be right if you're kind to people. Say things that will please them" — is simple, sound and practical. During the visit she is a quick-witted rescuer, smoothing over every blunder with remarks like "Bankers always have to read a lot of newspapers" and "(quickly) I like blue dresses and red coats," and constantly changing the topic to Mr. Best, Mrs. Best and Mrs. Grantley. Her patience never breaks: even at the end, while Mary ruins the farewell, Mrs. Shaw is still saying, "Please stay a little longer." She embodies tact, warmth and motherly perseverance.

The central theme is the importance of tact — thinking before speaking — in social life. The play develops the theme in three movements. First comes the teaching: Mrs. Shaw, knowing a visit is coming, coaches Mary at length — be kind, say pleasing things, make others laugh, look sorry when guests leave — while Mary overconfidently claims that anyone can talk. Second comes the testing: every single piece of advice is broken in turn, as Mary praises children who do not exist, mocks bankers, clothes, lie-ins, doctors, talkative women, dogs and horse-riders — each remark wounding one of the guests, since the guests themselves turn out to be bankers' relations, wearers of blue dresses and red coats, morning lie-abedders, doctor-goers, a talkative woman's daughter and the owners of Towzer. Third comes the verdict: the guests leave early with pointed looks at Mary, and even Mary's one memorised line comes out backwards — "Must you stay? Can't you go?" The comedy drives home the message that careless words can destroy goodwill in minutes, while kindness and a moment's thought preserve it.

The play teaches a cluster of social and moral values through comedy. The first is kindness in speech: Mrs. Shaw's golden rule — "you'll always be right if you're kind to people. Say things that will please them" — is the moral centre of the play, and every one of Mary's blunders is a violation of it. The second is hospitality and respect for guests: Mrs. Shaw tidies the room, dresses Mary nicely, tries to keep the conversation alive, and says warmly, "It was very good of you to come to see us. Please stay a little longer" — reflecting the Indian ideal of 'Athithi Devo Bhava', treating a guest like God. The third is humility and the willingness to learn: Mary's downfall is her boastful certainty ("I've often done harder things than this"), while her repeated "I'm sorry. I didn't know" shows at least the beginning of self-awareness. The fourth is not judging others: Mary mocks Mr. Best's train-travelling life, Mrs. Best's clothes, and Mr. Pomeroy's riding — only to learn that people have their own reasons for how they live, as when Mrs. Lee's brother sold his London house simply because he wanted to ride and practise shooting. Together, the play teaches that words have consequences, and courtesy is the oil that keeps human relationships running.

Although the play was written decades ago, its lesson sits at the very centre of modern life. Today we speak more than any generation before us — on WhatsApp, Instagram, in comment sections and group chats — and Mary's blunders are exactly the mistakes of the internet age: strong opinions about strangers, mocking people's clothes and habits, and speaking without knowing the full story. Just as Mary learned too late that her listeners were a banker's sister and the owner of Towzer, a careless message today reaches people we never thought of and cannot be taken back. In my own life, I have seen friendships strained by a joke made at the wrong moment, and I have also seen how one kind, well-timed word can rescue an awkward situation, just as Mrs. Shaw's "I like blue dresses and red coats" saved the moment for Mrs. Harding. The play's rule — be kind before you are clever, and think before you speak — is precisely the rule of good netiquette: pause, imagine the reader's feelings, then press send. Mrs. Shaw's advice is, in effect, the oldest user manual for good communication, online or off.

Dear Diary, what a dreadful afternoon! Mother told me a hundred times to say the right thing, and I promised to show her how well I could talk. I began by praising Mrs. Harding's beautiful children — and she has none! I even argued with her about it. Then I laughed at Mr. Best for living in trains, and Mrs. Lee said her brother is a banker. When I joked about Mrs. Best's blue dress and red coat, Mrs. Harding said she wears exactly that! Then came Mrs. Cotter — both the ladies do exactly what I mocked her for. I called talkative women uninteresting in front of Mrs. Lee, whose mother is very talkative. Worst of all, I called the Hardings' own dog Towzer dirty and asked who wants a dog — my face went red as a tomato. And at the very end, after repeating "Must you go? Can't you stay?" all afternoon, I told them "Must you stay? Can't you go?" I wanted the earth to swallow me. Mother was so disappointed, though she never scolded me before the guests. I have learnt my lesson at last: think first, speak second, and be kind — always. The right thing to say is rarely the first thing that comes to my head. From tomorrow, I am going to listen twice as much as I talk.

The dramatic form is a large part of the play's success. Because the characters speak directly to one another, we hear each blunder the instant it leaves Mary's mouth, and there is no narrator to soften it — the awkwardness is raw and immediate. The play is economical too: the entire first scene is a two-person conversation that loads the rules ("be kind," "Must you go? Can't you stay?") into our memory like a loaded gun, so that in Scene II every one of Mary's mistakes detonates with double force. The stage directions do the work of a thousand words. "(not very pleased)" tells us Mrs. Harding is hurt before she even finishes her sentence. "(quickly)" before Mrs. Shaw's defence of blue dresses shows a mother leaping into action mid-sentence. The repeated "(No one speaks)" is a comic drumbeat of embarrassment. Most brilliant of all are the final directions: "(She looks at Mary)" twice as the ladies leave — a silent verdict on the whole afternoon — and "(unable to say the right thing even now)" for Mary's last, back-to-front farewell. Read aloud in class, the play turns embarrassment into shared laughter, and the comedy carries its moral home more effectively than any lecture.