ANSWER KEY

‘Old Mrs Raju’

1. The word is ‘routine’.

2. She was envious because the people who were at the station could walk quickly while old
age had reduced her movement to a painful limp.

3. The woman positioned herself near a newspaper stand and glanced around the station
every now and then.

4. The young man was the same person in the photograph who Mrs Raju had seen earlier.

5. The young man would be arrested if he did not run from the couple.
6. “This” refers to laying sprawled on the ground for a few seconds.

Teaching points:
Part A: Content
“this” refers to the young man laying sprawled….(0 mark)
This is a reference question and the answer must capture the action and not the actor.

Part B: Grammar (lay, laying, lie, lying)

Lie means to recline.
Lay means to put or place something.
Lay is a transitive verb. That means that there is always an object after it e.g. Lay the book on the
shelf. Book is the object.
The principal parts of lie and lay are listed below.

Base/Pure form Past Tense Past Participle (has/have/had) With ‘ing’

lie (as in recline) lay lain lying
lay (as in put/place) laid laid laying

The confusion occurs with the forms of lie.

lie/lay
I lie [not lay] on the floor when I watch television.
I lay my school bag on the floor when I reach home.
Hens lay eggs.
lying/laying
I am lying [not laying] on the floor watching television.
I am laying my bag on the floor to remind me that I have homework to finish.
Hens are laying eggs as we speak.
lay/laid
Yesterday I lay [not laid] in bed all watching television.
Yesterday I laid my bag on the floor and forgot all about my homework.
Yesterday the red hen laid an egg.
(have) lain/(have) laid
I have lain [not have laid] in bed all day watching television.
I have laid my bag on the floor to remind me that I have homework to finish.
What do you know? The red hen has just laid another egg.
7. Mrs Raju was worried that she might be arrested for hurting the young man.

8. “Done so” refers to escaping / running away again.

Teaching points:
“done so” refers to the young man escaping….(0 mark)
This is a reference question and the answer must capture the action and not the actor.

9. Mrs Raju smiled sheepishly and waved away the policewoman’s praise (as she made
her way home).

10. She felt useful even though she was old.

Teaching points:
Mrs Raju congratulated herself. (0 mark)
Mrs Raju felt proud of herself. (0 mark)
Mrs Raju felt she could still it off with finesse. (0 mark)
These answers do not capture the essence of Mrs Raju feeling useful despite her age.