How I Taught My Grandmother to Read — Class 9 MCQs with Answers
Class 9 CBSE English · Chapter 1
60 practice questions · 20 Easy · 20 Medium · 20 Hard · Updated
Jump to the 6 solved questions
Practise the most important Class 9 CBSE English questions from Chapter 1, "How I Taught My Grandmother to Read". You get 6 timed quizzes made from 60 NCERT-based MCQs, with answers and explanations. The questions are split into 20 Easy, 20 Medium and 20 Hard. Warm up on the basics, then move on to the exam-level questions that top scorers in CBSE Board exams get right.
To score well in "How I Taught My Grandmother to Read", focus on comprehension, grammar and writing skills. Each MCQ here is timed and uses exam-style marking (+4 correct, −1 wrong, 0 skipped). This helps you stay accurate when time is short, just as real papers need. Every question has a short explanation, so a wrong answer becomes a quick lesson. It is the fastest way to fix gaps before a test.
Use this chapter for focused revision. Start with the Easy set to check your basics on How I Taught My Grandmother to Read, then move to Medium and Hard to practise applying them. Your accuracy, streaks and XP save automatically. This chapter also adds to your overall Class 9 English mastery score. Try the 6 sample questions below: tap an option to see the answer and a worked explanation. Sign in free to start practising.
How I Taught My Grandmother to Read — important questions & MCQs with answers (Class 9 English)
6 solved questions from this chapter's difficulty levels, each with its answer and explanation. Tap an option to check yourself.
0 of 6 answered
- Q1 of 6Easy
In which part of India does the narrator's village lie, where she stayed with her grandparents?
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Answer: North Karnataka
Explanation: The narrator says, 'When I was a girl of about twelve, I used to stay in a village in north Karnataka with my grandparents.'
- Q2 of 6Easy
What was the name of the narrator's grandmother?
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Answer: Krishtakka
Explanation: The grandmother is named Krishtakka; the narrator lovingly calls her 'Avva'.
- Q3 of 6Medium
In the novel 'Kashi Yatre', the old lady finally gives away all her savings instead of going to Kashi. What does this reveal?
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Answer: That human kindness matters more than personal religious desire
Explanation: She helps an orphan girl marry, saying the girl's happiness is more important than worshipping at Kashi — kindness over personal desire.
- Q4 of 6Medium
The idiom 'passed with flying colours' in the story means:
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Answer: Achieved outstanding success
Explanation: The narrator says her student 'passed with flying colours' — an idiom for an outstanding performance.
- Q5 of 6Hard
Read the extract: 'The sacred Upanishads are ours— / what scriptures else to name with them?' The rhetorical question implies that:
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Answer: No other scriptures can be compared with the Upanishads
Explanation: The question is asked for effect, claiming the Upanishads stand above comparison.
- Q6 of 6Hard
Complete with the correct tenses: 'By the time Varun ___ the importance of budgeting, he ___ most of his savings.'
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Answer: recognised / had exhausted
Explanation: The earlier action (exhausting savings) takes past perfect ('had exhausted'); the later realisation takes simple past ('recognised').
How I Taught My Grandmother to Read notes: key concepts (Class 9 English)
Sudha Murty's true story of a twelve-year-old girl who teaches her sixty-two-year-old grandmother the Kannada alphabet, paired with the patriotic poem 'Bharat Our Land'. The unit turns on one idea — that learning has no age bar, and that a teacher is owed respect regardless of age or relationship.
- Narrator and setting
- A girl of about twelve staying with her grandparents in a village in north Karnataka; she reads to her grandmother every week.
- Krishtakka ('Avva')
- The sixty-two-year-old grandmother. 'Avva' means mother in the Kannada of north Karnataka. She never went to school, so she cannot read a single written word.
- 'Kashi Yatre'
- The serialised novel by Triveni that the grandmother loves, appearing every Wednesday in the Kannada weekly 'Karmaveera'. The narrator reads each episode aloud to her.
- Why she identifies with it
- The novel's old lady longs to visit Kashi and never goes; the grandmother too never went to Kashi, so she sees her own unfulfilled wish in the story.
- The turning point
- While the narrator is away at a wedding the magazine arrives, and the grandmother weeps because she cannot read the new episode herself — helplessness, not curiosity, is what breaks her.
- The decision and the deadline
- She resolves to learn the Kannada alphabet and sets Saraswati Puja day during Dassara as her deadline. The narrator first laughs at the idea.
- The role reversal
- On Dassara day the grandmother bends and touches her granddaughter's feet, saying she is touching 'the feet of a teacher, not my granddaughter' — a teacher deserves respect irrespective of age or gender.
- 'For learning there is no age bar'
- The grandmother's own words. Determination, not age, decides whether a person can learn: 'for a good cause if you are determined, you can overcome any obstacle.'
- Literacy as independence
- 'We are well-off, but what use is money when I cannot be independent?' — the story argues that literacy gives a self-reliance that wealth cannot buy.
- The novel's inner lesson
- In 'Kashi Yatre' the old lady gives away her savings so an orphan girl can marry, choosing human kindness over her own religious wish — the same self-sacrifice the grandmother shows.
- Poem: 'Bharat Our Land'
- Praises the mighty Himavant (the Himalayas), the generous Ganga and the sacred Upanishads, building pride in India's natural and cultural greatness.
- Devices in the poem
- The repeated 'is ours' at the start of successive lines is anaphora/parallelism; 'which other river can match her grace?' is a rhetorical question; calling the land 'she' with 'her grace' is personification.
- Grammar in context
- Past perfect for the earlier of two past actions ('By the time I reached, everyone had finished'), and negative prefixes — respective becomes irrespective, possible becomes impossible.
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How I Taught My Grandmother to Read — FAQs
What are the key concepts in Class 9 English How I Taught My Grandmother to Read?+
Sudha Murty's true story of a twelve-year-old girl who teaches her sixty-two-year-old grandmother the Kannada alphabet, paired with the patriotic poem 'Bharat Our Land'. The unit turns on one idea — that learning has no age bar, and that a teacher is owed respect regardless of age or relationship. Key ideas include Narrator and setting, Krishtakka ('Avva'), 'Kashi Yatre', Why she identifies with it, The turning point, The decision and the deadline.
What does Class 9 English Chapter 1 (How I Taught My Grandmother to Read) cover on XamBaaz?+
It has 60 NCERT-based MCQs on "How I Taught My Grandmother to Read": 20 Easy, 20 Medium and 20 Hard. Together they make 6 timed quizzes, and you never get the same set twice. Every question has an instant explanation. They help you prepare for CBSE Board exams.
Are these "How I Taught My Grandmother to Read" questions free to practise?+
Yes. Sign in with Google to practise "How I Taught My Grandmother to Read" free. Full unlimited access is ₹999/year. One year from the day you pay. You stay in Class 9 till 31 March; on 1 April your account moves up to Class 10 and the rest of your year carries over. No chapter is charged separately.
How should I revise "How I Taught My Grandmother to Read" for the exam?+
Start with the Easy quiz to check your basics, then try Medium and Hard to practise applying them. There are 6 timed quizzes on this chapter, so you can come back for a fresh set instead of one you have seen. Read each explanation, retry the questions you miss, and track your accuracy until it stays high.
Are these "How I Taught My Grandmother to Read" MCQs available with answers?+
Yes. 6 sample questions are on this page with answers: tap an option, or "Show answer", to see the correct option and a step-by-step explanation. Sign in free with Google to start practising, with instant scoring.
Is there negative marking in the "How I Taught My Grandmother to Read" quizzes?+
Yes. The timed quizzes use exam-style marking: +4 for a right answer, −1 for a wrong one and 0 for a skip. MHT-CET and CBSE board papers have no negative marking. Our mocks for those are scored their way.
What are the important questions from How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (Class 9 English)?+
The questions that matter most test Narrator and setting, Krishtakka ('Avva'), 'Kashi Yatre', Why she identifies with it, The turning point, The decision and the deadline. This page shows 6 solved important MCQs with answers and explanations. Sign in to practise all 60 questions on the chapter as timed quizzes.
Is there an online quiz for How I Taught My Grandmother to Read?+
Yes — Class 9 English How I Taught My Grandmother to Read has timed online quizzes at Easy, Medium and Hard levels, with instant scoring and a worked explanation on every question. The first quiz on the chapter is free.
Are there question answers and extra questions for How I Taught My Grandmother to Read (Class 9 English)?+
Yes. This page has 6 solved questions on How I Taught My Grandmother to Read, each with the correct answer and a short explanation. Sign in to practise all 60 questions on the chapter as timed quizzes.