Class 6 English · Original EZT practice
The Chair (Class 6 English Chapter 6): an invisible chair that reveals real friends
Mario boasts that he has hundreds of friends - until his grandfather bets him a fruit chaat that many of them are only companions. His test: a magic invisible chair from the attic. Whoever helps Mario when he falls is a real friend. Below: a summary, word meanings, comprehension practice and word-building work on root words and suffixes. (Note: this is original practice, not a textbook exercise key.)
6 original worked examples, 6 fresh self-check questions and 4 mixed questions, with explained answers. These are not copied textbook exercises, an official chapter index or a full answer key. No affiliation with NCERT is claimed.
Official sources for topic and edition context, checked 22 October 2026:
1. Story summary and characters
Mario loves showing off about his many friends. His grandfather bets a fruit chaat that Mario has fewer real friends than he thinks, and hands him an invisible 'special chair' that will reveal who his real friends are.
2. Reading comprehension
At school Mario keeps missing the invisible chair and falling. Most schoolmates laugh at each fall, but Guneet, Asma and Deepa hold him up so he will not fall - and Mario sees who truly cares for him.
3. Word meanings
The chapter glosses story words - showed off (boasted), readily (without any problem, willingly), attic (a storage space just under the roof), invisible (impossible to see), buddies, companions.
4. Word building - root words and suffixes
Words from the story can be split into a root word plus an ending (suffix) - friend + ly = friendly, sudden + ly = suddenly, talk + ing = talking, carry + ing = carrying, call + ed = called, show + ed = showed.
Choose, solve, check, then try a fresh question.
Before calculating, read the method prompt and name the condition that makes it useful. Write your own attempt. Open the steps only when you need them, and use the check to catch a wrong sign, unit or interpretation. Finish with the fresh question before reading its answer.
State the bet
Choose the method: A fruit chaat rides on it.
EZT practice question
What was the bet between Mario and his grandfather?
Show the worked solution
- Mario boasted he had hundreds of friends.
- Grandfather doubted it - many were only companions or partners, he said.
- He bet Mario a fruit chaat, and Mario accepted readily.
Answer: Grandfather bet Mario a fruit chaat that Mario did not have as many real friends as he thought - that many of his schoolmates were nothing more than companions or partners. Mario accepted readily.
Check: The bet sets up the whole test - without it there is no chair and no lesson.
Watch for this: Do not forget what was wagered - a fruit chaat, which returns at the story's end.
Now try it yourself
Where did Grandfather say the special chair was kept?
Check your answer
In the attic - a storage space just under the roof.
That is where he claimed to have stored the 'magic' chair.
Explain how the test worked
Choose the method: Watch who helps, not who laughs.
EZT practice question
How did the 'magic chair' test work? Who passed it?
Show the worked solution
- Mario tried again and again to sit on the invisible chair, and kept falling.
- Many classmates just made fun of his falls.
- Guneet, Asma and Deepa held him up each time - their care showed they were his real friends.
Answer: As Mario tried again and again to sit on the invisible chair, many classmates just made fun of his falls, but three buddies - Guneet, Asma and Deepa - held him up each time so he would not fall. Their care showed they were his real friends.
Check: The 'magic' was never in the chair - it was in what the falls revealed about the onlookers.
Watch for this: Do not say Mario finally sat on the chair - an invisible chair cannot be sat on; the falls are the test.
Now try it yourself
State True or False: Mario successfully sat on the invisible chair on his first attempt.
Check your answer
False.
He missed and fell - many times.
State Grandfather's point
Choose the method: Care is the test of friendship.
EZT practice question
What did Mario's grandfather want to show him?
Show the worked solution
- Grandfather doubted that hundreds of schoolmates were real friends.
- Real friends care for us - especially when things go wrong.
- Someone who takes joy in our bad luck is not a real friend.
Answer: That true friends are those who care for us - a friend is not someone who takes joy in our bad luck.
Check: The chair scene proves it: the laughers enjoyed his bad luck; the holders-up cared.
Watch for this: Do not reduce the lesson to 'count your friends' - it is about quality, not quantity.
Now try it yourself
How did the story end?
Check your answer
Mario had won the bet; the four children visited Grandpa, enjoyed stories and fruit chaat, and afterwards used the magic chair test on many occasions - whoever passed became a friend for life.
The wagered fruit chaat closes the story.
Match story words to meanings
Choose the method: Fix each word to one plain meaning.
EZT practice question
Match: showed off, readily, attic, invisible - with their meanings.
Show the worked solution
- showed off - boasted.
- readily - without any problem, willingly.
- attic - a storage space in a house just under the roof; invisible - impossible to see.
Answer: showed off - boasted; readily - without any problem, willingly; attic - a storage space in a house just under the roof; invisible - impossible to see.
Check: All four drive the plot: Mario showed off, accepted readily, fetched a chair from the attic, and could not see it because it was invisible.
Watch for this: Do not confuse readily with quickly - it means willingly, without objection.
Now try it yourself
Use 'invisible' in a sentence of your own.
Check your answer
Germs are invisible to our eyes.
Anything that cannot be seen is invisible.
Distinguish friend from companion
Choose the method: Company is not the same as care.
EZT practice question
What is the difference between a 'friend' and a 'companion' as Grandfather used the words?
Show the worked solution
- A companion is simply someone you spend time with.
- A real friend cares for you.
- The difference shows most clearly in difficulty.
Answer: A companion is just someone you spend time with; a real friend cares for you, especially in difficulty.
Check: Grandfather's bet used exactly this distinction - most of Mario's schoolmates proved to be companions only.
Watch for this: Do not treat the words as equal - the whole story is built on the gap between them.
Now try it yourself
Who were Mario's 'buddies'?
Check your answer
Guneet, Asma and Deepa.
They are the three who held him up.
Split words into root and suffix
Choose the method: Root word first, ending after.
EZT practice question
Split into root word and suffix: friendly, talking, showed.
Show the worked solution
- friendly comes from the root word friend with the suffix ly.
- talking comes from talk with the suffix ing.
- showed comes from show with the suffix ed.
Answer: friend + ly; talk + ing; show + ed.
Check: Each root still means what it meant alone - the suffix just bends it into a new form.
Watch for this: Do not split inside the root - 'fri' and 'end' are not the parts; the root is the whole word 'friend'.
Now try it yourself
Add a suffix to 'help' to make a word meaning 'full of help'.
Check your answer
helpful.
help + ful = helpful.
Try a mixed set
Choose a method or explanation before opening each answer.
1. What was the bet?
Show answer and reason
A fruit chaat that many of Mario's friends were only companions.
Mario accepted readily.
2. Who were Mario's real friends?
Show answer and reason
Guneet, Asma and Deepa.
They held him up while others laughed.
3. What is an attic?
Show answer and reason
A storage space in a house just under the roof.
That is where the 'special chair' was kept.
4. Root word in 'friendly'?
Show answer and reason
friend.
friend + ly = friendly.
Try it yourself
Work these on paper before checking any notes. Answers are deliberately not shown here.
- What two words describe the chair?
- Split: suddenly, carrying, called.
- Use 'invisible' in a sentence of your own.
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Questions about this practice page
- What is 'The Chair' about?
- Mario's grandfather uses an imaginary invisible chair to show him who his real friends are - the ones who help him instead of laughing when he falls.
- Who were Mario's real friends?
- Guneet, Asma and Deepa, who held him up so he would not fall while others made fun of him.
- What was the bet in 'The Chair'?
- Grandfather bet a fruit chaat that many of Mario's 'friends' were only companions; Mario had won the bet by the end of the story.
- What lesson does 'The Chair' teach?
- True friends care for us; someone who enjoys our bad luck is not a real friend.
- Are these the NCERT exercise questions for Class 6 English Chapter 6?
- No. EZT pages are original practice following the chapter's section order - use them to prepare for the textbook exercises, not as a substitute for your book.