The Night The Ghost Got In (Prose)

Class 10 Unit 2 Prose

The Night the Ghost Got In

James Grover Thurber

Imagination of odd things always leads to absolute humour. Read the lesson and enjoy the narrator's experience with his grandfather who creates chaos and laughter with his imaginative stories.

The ghost that got into our house on the night of November 17, 1915, raised such a hullabaloo of misunderstandings that I am sorry I didn't just let it keep on walking, and go to bed. Its advent caused my mother to throw a shoe through a window of the house next door and ended up with my grandfather shooting a patrolman. I am sorry, therefore, as I have said, that I ever paid any attention to the footsteps.

They began about a quarter past one o'clock in the morning, a rhythmic, quickcadenced walking around the dining room table. My mother was asleep in one room upstairs, my brother-Herman in another, grandfather was in the attic, in the old walnut bed which, as you will remember, once fell on my father. I had just stepped out of the bathtub and was busily rubbing myself with a towel when I heard the steps. They were the steps of a man walking rapidly around the dining-table downstairs. The light from the bathroom shone down the back-steps, which dropped directly into the dining-room; I could see the faint shine of plates on the plate-rail; I couldn't see the table. The steps kept going round and round the table; at regular intervals a board creaked, when it was trod upon. I supposed at first that it was my father or my brother Roy, who had gone to Indianapolis but were expected home at any time. I suspected next that it was a burglar. It did not enter my mind until later that it was a ghost.

a. Where was the author when he heard the noise?

b. What did the narrator think the unusual sound was?

After the walking had gone on for perhaps three minutes, I tiptoed to Herman's room. 'Psst!' I hissed, in the dark, shaking him. 'Awp', he said, in the low, hopeless tone of a despondent beagle - he always half suspected that something would 'get him' in the night. I told him who I was. 'There's something downstairs!' I said. He got up and followed me to the head of the back staircase. The steps had ceased. Herman looked at me in some alarm: I had only the bath towel around my waist. He wanted to go back to bed, I gripped his arm. 'There's something down there!' I said. Instantly the steps began again, circled the dining-room table like a man running, and started up the stairs towards us, heavily, two at a time. The light still shone palely down the stairs; we saw nothing coming; we only heard the steps. Herman rushed to his room and slammed the door. I slammed shut the door at the stairs top and held my knee against it. After a long minute, I slowly opened it again. There was nothing there. There was no sound. None of us ever heard the ghost again.

The slamming of the doors had aroused mother: she peered out of her room. 'What on earth are you boys doing?' she demanded. Herman ventured out of his room. 'Nothing,' he said, gruffly, but he was, in colour, a light green. 'What was all that running around downstairs?' said mother. So she had heard the steps, too! We just looked at her. 'Burglars!' she shouted, intuitively. I tried to quieten her by starting lightly downstairs. 'Come on, Herman,' I said. 'I'll stay with mother,' he said. 'She's all excited.' I stepped back onto the landing. 'Don't either of you go a step,' said mother. 'We'll call the police.' Since the phone was downstairs, I didn't see how we were going to call the police - nor did I want the police - but mother made one of her quick, incomparable decisions. She flung up a window of her bedroom which faced the bedroom windows of the house of a neighbour, picked up a shoe, and whammed it through a pane of glass across the narrow space that separated the two houses. Glass tinkled into the bedroom occupied by a retired engraver named Bodwell and his wife. Bodwell had been for some years in rather a bad way and was subject to mild 'attacks'. Almost everybody we knew or lived near had some kind of attacks.

c. What were the various sounds the brothers heard when they went downstairs?

d. Who were the narrator neighbours?

It was now about two o'clock of a moonless night; clouds hung black and low. Bodwell was at the window in a minute, shouting frothing a little, shaking his fist. 'We'll sell the house and go back to Peoria,' we could hear Mrs. Bodwell saying. It was some time before mother 'got through' to Bodwell. 'Burglars!' she shouted. 'Burglars in the house!' Herman and I hadn't dared to tell her that it was not burglars but ghosts, for she was even more afraid of ghosts than of burglars. Bodwell at first thought that she meant there were burglars in his house, but finally he quieted down and called the police for us over an extension phone by his bed. After he had disappeared from the window, mother suddenly made as if to throw another shoe, not because there was further need of it but, as she later explained, because the thrill of heaving a shoe through a window glass had enormously taken her fancy. I prevented her.

The police were on hand in a commendably short time: a Ford sedan full of them, two on motorcycles, and a patrol wagon with about eight in it and a few reporters. They began banging at our front door. Flashlights shot streaks of gleam up and down the walls, across the yard, down the walk between our house and Bodwell's. 'Open up!' cried a hoarse voice. 'Were men from Headquarters!' I wanted to go down and let them in, since there they were, but mother wouldn't hear of it. 'You haven't a stitch on,' she pointed out. 'You'd catch your death.' I wound the towel around me again. Finally the cops put their shoulders to our big heavy front door with its thick bevelled glass and broke it in: I could hear a rending of wood and a splash of glass on the floor of the hall. Their lights played all over the livingroom and crisscrossed nervously in the dining-room, stabbed into hallways, shot up the front stairs and finally up the back. They caught me standing in my towel at the top. A heavy policeman bounded up the steps. 'Who are you?' he demanded. 'I live here,' I said.

Two questions are given from the lesson in box.

e. How did the Bodwells react, when a shoe was thrown into their house?

f. What did the Bodwells think when they heard the mother shout?

The officer in charge reported to mother. 'No sign of nobody, lady,' he said. 'Musta got away - whatt'd he like?' 'There were two or three of them,' mother said, 'whooping and carrying on slamming doors.' 'Funny,' said the cop. 'All ya windows and door was locked on the inside tight as a tick.'

Downstairs, we could hear the tromping of the other police. Police were all over the place; doors were yanked open, drawers were yanked open, windows were shot up and pulled down, furniture fell with dull thumps. A half-dozen policemen emerged out of the darkness of the front hallway upstairs. They began to ransack the floor; pulled beds away from walls, tore clothes off hooks in the closets, pulled suitcase and boxes off shelves. One of them found an old zither that Roy had won in a pool tournament. 'Looky here, Joe,' he said, strumming it with a big paw. The cop named Joe took it and turned it over. 'What is it?' he asked me. 'It's an old zither our guinea pig used to sleep on,' I said. It was true that a pet guinea pig we once had would never sleep anywhere except on the zither, but I should never have said so. Joe and the other cop looked at me a long time. They put the zither back on a shelf.

'No sign o' nothing', said the cop who had first spoken to mother, 'The lady seems hysterical.' They all nodded, but said nothing; just looked at me. In the small silence we all heard a creaking in the attic. Grandfather was turning over in bed. 'What's that?' snapped Joe. Five or six cops sprang for the attic door before I could intervene or explain. I realized that it would be bad if they burst in on grandfather unannounced, or even announced. He was going through a phase in which he believed that General Meade's men, under steady hammering by Stonewall Jackson, were beginning to retreat and even desert.

When I got to the attic, things were pretty confused. Grandfather had evidently jumped to the conclusion that the police were deserters from Meade's army, trying to hide away in his attic. He bounded out of bed wearing a long flannel nightgown over long woolen pants, a nightcap, and a leather jacket around his chest. The cops must have realized at once that the indignant white-haired old man belonged to the house, but they had no chance to say so. 'Back, ye cowardly dog!' roared grandfather. 'Back t' the lines ye goodaam Lily-livered cattle!' With that, he fetched the officer who found the zither a flat - handed smack alongside his head that sent him sprawling. The others beat a retreat, but not enough; grandfather grabbed zither's gun from its holster and let fly. The report seemed to crack the rafters; smoke filled the attic. A cop cursed and shot his hand to his shoulder. Somehow, we all finally got downstairs again and locked the door against the old gentleman. He fired once or twice more in the darkness and then went back to bed. 'That was grandfather', I explained to Joe, out of breath. 'He thinks you're deserter.' 'I'll say he does,' said Joe.

g. What was the grandfather wearing?

h. What conclusions did grandfather jump to when he saw the cops?

The cops were reluctant to leave without getting their hand on somebody besides grandfather; the night had been distinctly a defeat for them. Furthermore, they obviously didn't like the 'layout'; something looked - and I can see their viewpoint - phony. They began to poke into things again. A reporter, a thin-faced, wispy man, came up to me. I had put on one of mother's dress, not being able to find anything else. The reporter looked at me with mingled suspicion and interest. 'Just what the hell is the real lowdown here, Bud?' he asked. I decided to be frank with him. 'We had ghosts,' I said. He gazed at me a long time as if I were a slot machine into which he had, without results, dropped a coin. Then he walked away. The cops followed him, the one grandfather shot holding his nowbandaged arm, cursing and blaspheming. 'I'm gonna get my gun back from that old bird,' said the zither-cop. 'Yeh,' said Joe, 'You - and who else?' I told them I would bring it to the station house the next day.

'What was the matter with that one policeman?' mother asked, after they had gone. 'Grandfather shot him,' I said. 'What for?' she demanded. I told her he was a deserter. 'Of all things!' said mother. 'He was such a nice-looking young man'.

'Grandfather was fresh as a daisy and full of jokes at breakfast next morning. We thought at first he had forgotten all about what had happened, but he hadn't. Over his third cup of coffee, he glared at Herman and me. 'What was the idee of all them cops tarryhootin' round the house last night?' he demanded. 'None of you bothered to leave a bottle of water beside my bed. Do you ever realize what it cost for a thirsty man to look for water in the dining room last night? he complained He had us there.

i. Were the policemen willing to leave the house?

j. What made the reporter gaze at the author?

About the Author

James Grover Thurber (1894-1961) was an American cartoonist, author, humourist, journalist, playwright, and celebrated wit. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories published mainly in The New Yorker magazine, such as "The Catbird Seat", and collected in his numerous books. He was one of the most popular humourists of his time, as he celebrated the comic frustrations and eccentricities of ordinary people.

Glossary

hullabaloo (v) lot of loud noise made by people who are excited. patrolman (n) a patrolling police officer. attic (n) a space or room inside or partly inside the roof of a building slamming (v) shutting a door or window forcefully and loudly. gruffly (adv.) sadly intuitively (adv.) without conscious reasoning, instinctively whammed (v) struck something forcefully bevelled (v) reduced to a slopping edge rending (v) tearing to pieces yanked (v) pulled with a jerk zither (n) a musical instrument consisting of a flat wooden sound box with numerous strings stretched across it, placed horizontally and played with fingers guinea pig (n) a domesticated tailless South American rodent originally raised for food hysterical (adj.) affected by wildly uncontrolled emotion creaking (v) making a squeaking sound when being moved indignant (adj.) feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment holster (n) a holder made of leather for carrying handgun rafter (n) a beam forming part of the internal framework of a roof deserter (n) a person who leaves the armed force without permission. Exercise A. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two.

1. Why was the narrator sorry to have paid attention to the footsteps?

2. Why did Herman and the author slam the doors?

3. What woke up the mother?

4. What do you understand by the mother's act of throwing the shoe?

5. Why do you think Mrs. Bodwell wanted to sell the house?

6. How did the cops manage to enter the locked house?

7. Why were the policeman prevented from entering grandfather's room?

8. Who used the zither and how?

9. Mention the things that the grandfather imagined.

Exercise B. Answer the following questions in about 100-150 words.

1. Describe the funny incident that caused the confusion in the house.

2. Narrate the extensive search operation made by the policemen in the house.

Do You Know?

George Maede was an Army officer who served during the American civil war. Stonewall Jackson was a Confederate General, who fought against Maede.

Vocabulary

Slang Expression

Slang is a type of language consisting of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal and more common in speech than writing. They are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people.

Exercise C. Look at the following expressions from the text.

With the help of your teacher rewrite them in standard English. One has been done for you.

1. 'Musta got away ― whatt'd he like?

Must have got away - what was he like?

2. 'Looky here, Joe'

3. 'No sign o' nothing'

4. 'Back t' the lines ye goodaam'

5. 'What was the idee of all them cops tarryhootin' round the house last night.'

Singular and Plural Forms

In this lesson, we find plural forms such as furniture, houses, windows, burglars, boxes, shelves, policemen. You may notice that these words have taken up different suffixes to form plurals. This is because English words have different origins.

Exercise D. Complete the given tabular column with the suitable plural forms.

Singular	Plural
chair
box
eskimo
lady
radius
formula
child
deer
loaf
hero

Listening

Exercise E. Listen to the story and answer the following.

1. The rich man was from....

a. Nagaland b. Thailand c. Finland

2. Where did Chulong catch the bird?

3. Why did Chulong catch the bird?

4. What will happen to the bird in imprisonment?

5. What did the bird suggest Chulong, in exchange for its freedom?

6. Does Chulong want to earn money honestly?

7. What were Chulongs plans for the bird?

8. Who is wise according to you?

9. Is the bird a crow?

10. What are the three rules given by the bird?

Speaking

Exercise F. Quiz: Who am I?

Let us play this game in class

❖ Who Am I? is a guessing game where players use 'yes' or 'no' questions to guess the identity of a famous person. Questions are based upon the traits and characteristics of a person everyone will be able to identify.

❖ Divide the class into groups. One group should decide the personality while the other group should ask 'yes' or 'no' type questions. To win the game, a team needs to find out the person within 10 clues.

Sample questions to ask. Answers must be 'yes' or 'no' only.

❖ Are you a male (female)?

❖ Are you a famous personality?

❖ Are you a singer (dancer, actor)?

❖ Are you a historical figure?

❖ Are you young (old)?

❖ Are you alive now?

❖ Does your name start with ' ___?

❖ Is he/she ___?

Exercise G. Use this passage to play the game.

You can collect information on other famous personalities and play too.

Charlie Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889, in London England. His birth name was Charles Spencer Chaplin, though he had many nicknames growing up such as Charlie, Charlot, and The Little Tramp. His father, Charles Chaplin, and his mother, Hannah Chaplin, were inducted into the music hall of fame, leading the way to his exposure even as a young boy. His first onstage moment was when he was 5 years old; he sang a song that was intended to be sung by his own mother; she had become ill at the time of the performance, so little Charlie Chaplin stood instead and performed for his mother. Charlie Chaplin came to the United States in 1910, at the age of 21. He was brought to New York, which was known to be a great place to start out for anyone trying to become a professional actor. Two years later, in 1913, Chaplin signed his very first contract at Keystone and it was no time before he headed to Hollywood. His first movie premiered in 1914, "Making a Living," and went on to make over 35 movies total in that year alone. Charlie Chaplin grew to become one of the most popular and successful actors of all time. The moment that really kicked off his long career was in 1921 when he starred in, and produced, his first full length film called "The Kid." From then on, most people all over the world knew Charlie Chaplin and loved his movies. He had a great career and life, dying on December 25, 1977, in Vevey, Switzerland. He had apparently died of natural causes in his sleep from old age.

Reading

Read the following incident carefully to answer the questions that follow

The tie that does not bind

"Oh, so you're going abroad? Can you bring me back ...?" I've been asked to bring back a vaccine for a course. Once I searched the suburbs of Paris for two days for a special brand of ceramic paint. Having spent a lot of money for Cartier lighter refills, I had them confiscated at the airport just before boarding because the gas might be dangerous in the air. Now, two months before a trip, I stop talking to people so they won't suspect I'm about to travel. But someone always catches me." I've heard you're going to New York, and I want you to get something for me. It's just a little thing you can find anywhere. I don't know exactly how much it costs, but it shouldn't be much. We'll settle up when you get back".

What Gilson asked me to buy was, in fact a little thing: a tie. But not just any tie. He wanted a tie with a small embroidered G. Any colour would do, as long as it had his initial. Look , this is a special flight, I explained. We are only staying Saturday through Tuesday. On the day we arrived I didn't have time to think about the tie, but strolling around on Sunday I did see ties bearing various letters in more than one shop window. They were cheap, just a dollar, but all the shops were closed. On Monday, lunch lasted the whole afternoon. Then it was Tuesday morning, time to leave. It was only when I saw our airport bus waiting outside the hotel that I remembered the tie. I told the group to go on. I would get a taxi to the airport. And so I went in search of a nearby shop where I had seen ties. But I couldn't find it. I walked further down the street-one, two, three blocks - all in vain. Back at the hotel, a bit anxious now, I took my suitcase, got a taxi and asked the driver to rush to the street where I had seen them. The driver stopped at each shop we passed so I could look from the window. The stores had all sorts of ties, but not the kind I was looking for. When I finally thought I had located the right shop, I decided to go in and check. The driver refused to wait. Parking was prohibited, he said. I promised to double the fare, jumped out and ran into the shop. Was I going to miss the plane just for a damned tie? The salesman was unbearably slow. When I realized that the smallest change I had was a ten dollar note , I grabbed ten ties of different colours so I wouldn't have to wait for change. I rushed out with the ties in a paper bag. On the street I looked around. The taxi had vanished, taking my suitcase. What is more, I was going to miss the plane. I ran to the corner, and hope flared up again: the taxi was waiting in the next street. Quick to the airport! As I settled down inside the taxi. I sighed with relief. Gilson was going to have enough initialized ties to last him a lifetime. When I reached the airport, I paid the taxi driver the double fare and grabbed my suitcase. Panting, I boarded the plane under the reproachful gaze of the other passengers, all primly seated with their seat belts fastened. Ready to take off. Departure had been delayed because of me. "At least I hope you found your tie", said one who knew the story. "I did", I answered triumphantly. After making myself comfortable, I reached for the paper bag to show the ties. I had left it behind; in the taxi.

Fernando Sabino

Exercise H. Read the incident again and answer the following questions.

1. What was the writer always asked to do whenever he planned to go abroad?

2. What did Gilson want the writer to bring for him?

3. When did the writer remember the fact that he had to buy something for Mr. Gilson?

4. Why were the other passengers in the flight gazing at the writer?

5. What is the humour element in the above incident?

Exercise I. Suggesting titles

Title summarises the story. Each paragraph is a part of the story. Look at the following expressions and find out the paragraphs that best suit these expressions.

1. Oh, No! But it happens!

2. Don't let out your travelling dates

3. Anyway, people will be people

4. Search begins

5. Things are not that easy

6. Hurry invites worry

Exercise J. Look at the following situations the writer was in.

He could have avoided the situation and saved himself. Glance through the write up again and comment on what the writer should have done in the following situations.

❖ Gilson asked the writer to bring a tie.

❖ On the day of arrival, the writer had no time to think about the tie.

❖ The writer remembered about the tie when the bus was leaving for the airport.

❖ The writer walked down in search of the shop.

❖ The writer rushed out with the tie in a paper bag.

Exercise K. True or False 1. The narrator searched for three days to buy ceramic paint. 2. The author was going to New York. 3. Gilson asked the narrator to buy a tie. 4. The taxi driver took away the narrator's suitcase. 5. Departure was delayed because of the author. 6. The author left the ties in the taxi.

Writing

How to Write a Good Speech

1. Have an inspiring OPENING and ENDING.

2. Appropriate(suitable)TONE of VOICE. (e.g.) sincere for a serious issue, humour for comedy etc

3. Adapt speech for PURPOSE and AUDIENCE. (e.g.) teenagers, mixed audience, teachers, children etc

4. Organise IDEAS logically and do not confuse the audience.

5. Use EMOTIVE language to CONVINCE your audience that what you are saying should be listened to. (e.g.) Even if they put us in chains, torture us and leave us to bleed we will not move. Blood will be our victory!

6. Use RHETORICAL QUESTIONS - asking a question for persuasive effect with out expecting are play (because the answer is obvious) Eg: Was he not a good man? (knowing that the audience agree anyway)

7. Make sure you are writing in the CORRECT PERSON (e.g.) I believe that... I knew him well...

8. Use interesting facts and figures (e.g.) 200000 people... with diagrams or charts to help your audience visualize it.

Do You Know?

RHETORIC is the art of using eloquence (grand, effective speech) for persuasive effect in public speaking. It was taught in medieval universities and included techniques such as elaborate figures of speech (e.g. simile, metaphor), memorisation and delivery (how it was said). The Romantics said it was in sincere and far too grand. Today we use it to describe writing that PERSUADES the reader.

Steps	Speech for Literary Association
Opening
Purpose
Audience
Language
Ending

Exercise M. Write a speech for your school Literary Association celebration with the given lead.

1) Opening

2) Purpose

3) Audience

4) Language - Some Good Describing Words (Adverbs And Adjectives), Emotive Words, Imagery etc.

5) Ending

Grammar

Articles

A, An and The are called Articles. We use a or an with singular nouns only. (e.g.) A girl, An orange

We use a with singular nouns and adjectives which begin with a consonant sound. (e.g.) A computer, A unit (yu+nit),A wonderful artist

We use an with singular nouns and adjectives which begin with a vowel sound. (e.g.) An artist, An M.L.A. (em.el.a),An honest shopkeeper

NOTE: Words beginning with consonant letters do not always begin with consonant sounds. Similarly words beginning with vowel letters do not always begin with vowel sounds. (e.g.) Honour (sounds like - onour) European (sounds like yu-ropean)

We use the when a person, an animal, a plant, a place, a thing is mentioned for a second time. (e.g.) I bought a book this morning. I am reading the book now.

We use the when it is clear to the listener or reader which person, animal, place, or thing we are referring to. (e.g.) The judge found him not guilty.

We use the when there is only one such thing. (e.g.) The earth goes round the sun.

We usually use the before ordinal numbers. (e.g.) I live on the third floor.

We use the before some proper nouns such as : (e.g.) The Indian Ocean, The Arabian Sea

We use the before names of most buildings, landmarks, monuments and natural wonders. (e.g.) The Park Hotel, The Taj Mahal

We use the before names of places containing of (e.g.) The Republic of China. The names of places ending in plurals. (e.g.) The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, The Netherlands.

Some proper nouns are not preceded by an article.

♦ the names of continents - Africa, Asia

♦ the names of countries - Belgium, India

♦ the names of towns and cities. - Tokyo, Chennai

♦ the names of streets - Ritchie Street.

Some nouns can be counted and they are called as countable nouns; some cannot be counted and they are called uncountable nouns. We use a or an only before countable nouns. (e.g.) A leaf fell off the tree. (countable) Rain can cause flooding (uncountable)

We use the with uncountable nouns, when it is clear to the reader which things we are referring to. We do not use the with uncountable nouns when we are talking in general. (Uncountable nouns do not take the plural forms). (e.g.) The rice in this super market is good. Rice is the staple food of Asians.

The word some can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns in the following ways. (e.g.) I want some apples. I want some papers.

Exercise Complete the conversation

Nagarajan and Dhanalakshmi want to buy a new house. They have come to see a house for sale. Complete the conversation below by adding a, an or the.

Nagarajan: Well, here we are, No.8, Kaveri Street. I think this is house we saw online. What do you think of location?

Dhanalakshmi: It is in nice neighbourhood. And it's close to the railway station.

Nagarajan: And bus stop is not too far away.

Dhanalakshmi: How many rooms are there?

Nagarajan: There are three rooms, kitchen and balcony.

Dhanalakshmi: There is lawn behind house, right?

Nagarajan: That's right lawn is actually quite large. Did you see any photos of living room, online? What does it look like?

Dhanalakshmi: living room looks great. It looks bright and airy. It has nice view of hills. But kitchen looks little small.

Nagarajan: And, I remember you said there isn't store room, right?

Dhanalakshmi: No, but there is attic, where we can store things.

Nagarajan: I hope this house is better option.

Dhanalakshmi: Lets wait for real estate agent. She said, she would be here at three o'clock.

Nagarajan: Look there she is!

Exercise Edit the passage

Few articles are missing in the given passage. Edit the passage given below by adding suitable articles where ever necessary.

Prepositional Phrases

These prepositions are formed by two-word or a three-word combination such as according to, along with, at the time of, because of, owing to, instead of etc. These kinds of prepositions are used frequently in our day to day life.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
according to	as stated by, on the authority of	According to the weatherman, we can expect more cold weather this week.
along with	together with	We have to give importance to Physical Education along with all the academic subjects.
because of	on account of	We stayed at home because of the bad weather.
owing to	because of	I can't accept your invitation owing to a previous engagement.
instead of	in place of, substituting for	I wish I were going to the party instead of my brother.
in the event of	in case of	The match will be stopped in the event of heavy rain.

Exercise Match the following

Refer to the dictionary to find out the meaning of the following prepositions and match them with the correct meaning.

due to
except for
in spite of
in place of
with reference to
in addition to
in the interest of

Meanings to match:

as a substitute for, in the interest of, irrespective of, disregarding the difficulty, because of, referring to, regardless of, with the exception of, for the sake of, added to

Exercise D. Fill in the blanks

Fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate prepositional phrase from the given options.

1. Everything falls to the ground _____ earth's gravitational pull.

a. in addition to b. because of c. cause of

2. The trial was conducted _____ the procedure of law.

a. in accordance with b. due to c. despite of

3. There is a temple right _____ my house.

a. in back of b. apart from c. in front of

4. As a _____ of his hard work, he achieved the target.

a. instead of b. result of c. apart from

5. Failure is often the _____ negligence.

a. effect of b. consequence of c. reason of

6. Children are given toys _____ sweets on Children's day.

a. on top of b. in addition to c. due to

7. The parents must be informed _____ any indiscipline conduct of their wards.

a. because of b. in case of c. in spite of

8. He didn't turn up _____ his busy schedule.

a. consequence of b. due to c. except for

9. Global warming is _____ the green house emission.

a. an effect of b. in spite of c. in addition to

10. _____ several warnings, he continued to swim.

a. due to b. in spite of c. because of Exercise E. Edit the following passage

Edit the following passage by replacing the underlined incorrect words with correct prepositional phrases.

Janu is studying in class X. In the event of the teachers she is a disciplined student. In addition to poverty, she is always neat. Many students like her in case of her simplicity. According to her studies, she also participates in sports. She gets on with everyone in case of age and gender in the school. In opposition to taking leave, she ensures that she completes the work given before she goes to school next day.

📝 Summary

1. The narrator heard mysterious footsteps walking around the dining room table at quarter past one in the morning on November 17, 1915, while he was getting out of the bathtub.
2. He woke his brother Herman to investigate, but when they went to check, the footsteps began coming up the stairs heavily, causing both brothers to slam doors and hide in fear.
3. Their mother heard the commotion and immediately assumed there were burglars in the house, refusing to let the boys go downstairs to investigate.
4. Since the telephone was downstairs and inaccessible, the mother made a dramatic decision to throw a shoe through the neighbor's window to get help, breaking glass in the Bodwells' bedroom.
5. The incident created a chain of misunderstandings that eventually led to the grandfather shooting a patrolman, making the narrator regret ever paying attention to the mysterious footsteps.