Class 7 English · Original EZT practice
Say the Right Thing (Class 7 English Chapter 6): Mary's unforgettable blunders
Mary Shaw means well. Her mother has invited two ladies from the neighbourhood, and Mary begs to stay and talk to them - she knows the right things to say, or so she thinks. G.C. Thornley's one-act play follows what happens when Mary opens her mouth: every remark lands on exactly the wrong listener. This page gives a scene-wise summary, a character sketch and practice questions. (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 23 October 2026:
1. Scene I summary - the advice
Mrs. Shaw expects two visitors - Mrs. Harding, whose wealthy husband has just bought a house in Lanfield after moving from London, and Mrs. Lee, Mr. Harding's married sister. Mary insists on staying to talk, and her mother gives careful advice: be kind, say things that please people, laugh and keep the conversation going, and when the guests want to leave, look sorry and say 'Must you go? Can't you stay?'
2. Scene II summary - every blunder
Mary does the opposite of everything she was taught. Each cheerful remark accidentally insults a listener: she mocks a commuting banker who turns out to be Mrs. Lee's brother, laughs at a blue dress with a red coat that Mrs. Harding herself wears, insults a dirty dog that belongs to the Hardings, and ridicules horse-riding and shooting - Mrs. Lee's brother's hobbies. At the end she reverses the polite farewell: 'Oh, must you stay? Can't you go?'
3. Character sketch - Mary and Mrs. Shaw
Mary is confident, talkative and eager, but tactless - she speaks before thinking and never notices who is listening. Mrs. Shaw is patient, socially careful and quick at covering up ('Bankers always have to read a lot of newspapers'; 'I like blue dresses and red coats'), but even she cannot save the visit.
4. Language in the play - word endings and polite speech
The chapter practises adding endings like -ous, -ly and -ing to words, and noticing how small changes in wording change politeness - the whole play turns on the gap between 'Must you go? Can't you stay?' and 'Must you stay? Can't you go?'
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.
Fix the two guests
Choose the method: Mrs. Harding and Mrs. Lee.
EZT practice question
Who are Mrs. Shaw's two guests, and why does she want the visit to go well?
Show the worked solution
- Mrs. Harding - wife of the wealthy Mr. Harding, who has just bought a big house in Lanfield.
- Mrs. Lee - Mr. Harding's married sister, who has been staying with the Hardings.
- Mrs. Shaw has recently met Mrs. Harding and wants to know her better - she hopes to be invited to their house and make more friends.
Answer: Mrs. Harding (the wealthy Mr. Harding's wife) and Mrs. Lee (Mr. Harding's married sister); Mrs. Shaw has recently met Mrs. Harding, wants to know her better, and hopes to be invited to the Hardings' house and make more friends.
Check: There is not much to do in Lanfield - new friends matter.
Watch for this: Do not swap the two - Mrs. Lee is Mr. Harding's sister, not his wife.
Now try it yourself
Why is Mrs. Shaw unsure about letting Mary stay?
Check your answer
Mary always talks too much, and her mother fears she will not say the right thing.
'Does anyone want to hear the things that you say?'
List the mother's advice
Choose the method: Kind, pleasing, sorry at goodbye.
EZT practice question
What advice does Mrs. Shaw give Mary about talking to guests?
Show the worked solution
- Be kind, and say things that please people.
- Laugh, and keep the conversation going.
- When the guests want to leave, look sorry and say 'Must you go? Can't you stay?'
Answer: Be kind, say things that please people, laugh and keep the conversation going, and when the guests leave, look sorry and say 'Must you go? Can't you stay?'
Check: The advice is about the listener's feelings, not the speaker's opinions.
Watch for this: Do not remember the farewell as optional - the play's last joke depends on it.
Now try it yourself
What does Mrs. Shaw mean by 'does anyone want to hear the things that you say'?
Check your answer
Talking a lot is not the same as saying things people enjoy hearing.
Quantity of talk is not quality of conversation.
Explain the banker blunder
Choose the method: Wrong listener.
EZT practice question
What does Mary say about Mr. Best, and why is it a blunder?
Show the worked solution
- She laughs at him for going to London by train every day and reading two newspapers.
- She adds that he is 'only a banker, and bankers can't think'.
- Mrs. Lee's brother is a banker who goes to London by train and reads newspapers too.
Answer: She laughs at Mr. Best for commuting to London daily and reading two newspapers, saying 'bankers can't think' - and Mrs. Lee's brother is a banker who does exactly the same.
Check: Mrs. Shaw covers up quickly: 'Bankers always have to read a lot of newspapers.'
Watch for this: Do not miss that every blunder fits a listener personally - that is the play's engine.
Now try it yourself
Which remark upsets Mrs. Harding about clothes?
Check your answer
Mocking Mrs. Best for wearing a blue dress with a red coat - Mrs. Harding often wears that combination herself.
Mrs. Shaw jumps in: 'I like blue dresses and red coats.'
Explain the dog blunder
Choose the method: The dog is theirs.
EZT practice question
What happens when Mary criticises the dog outside the window?
Show the worked solution
- She says the dirty dog is always near their house.
- She asks why anyone keeps dogs at all.
- Mrs. Harding quietly answers: 'That's Towzer. It's our dog.' - and Mary turns red.
Answer: She says the dirty dog is always near their house and asks why anyone keeps dogs at all - and Mrs. Harding quietly answers that the dog, Towzer, is theirs; Mary turns red with embarrassment.
Check: '(with a red face) Oh, I didn't know!'
Watch for this: Do not stop at the dog - she goes on to mock Mr. Pomeroy's riding and shooting, which are Mrs. Lee's brother's hobbies.
Now try it yourself
What does Mary finally say as the guests leave?
Check your answer
Instead of 'Must you go? Can't you stay?', she says 'Oh, must you stay? Can't you go?' - the exact opposite.
The stage direction says it: 'unable to say the right thing even now'.
Sketch Mary's character
Choose the method: Eager but tactless.
EZT practice question
Is Mary a bad-mannered girl on purpose? Sketch her character with evidence.
Show the worked solution
- She begs to stay and talk - she wants to impress the guests.
- She speaks before thinking and never notices who is listening.
- Every insult is accidental; she is confident and talkative, not cruel.
Answer: No - she is confident, talkative and eager, but tactless; she wants to impress, yet speaks before thinking and never notices who is listening, so each 'honest' remark insults someone.
Check: Her mother's covering lines show the family knows this pattern well.
Watch for this: Do not read her as wicked - the comedy works because she means well.
Now try it yourself
Give two examples of Mrs. Shaw quickly covering up Mary's mistakes.
Check your answer
When Mary mocks bankers, Mrs. Shaw says bankers always have to read many newspapers; when Mary laughs at the blue dress and red coat, Mrs. Shaw quickly says she likes blue dresses and red coats.
Cover-ups are the mother's comic role.
Compare the two farewells
Choose the method: Same words, reversed.
EZT practice question
How do the two farewell sentences differ in meaning?
Show the worked solution
- 'Must you go? Can't you stay?' asks guests to remain longer.
- 'Must you stay? Can't you go?' asks them to leave.
- The same words, reversed, change a warm welcome into a rude dismissal.
Answer: 'Must you go? Can't you stay?' asks guests to remain longer - it is warm and polite; 'Must you stay? Can't you go?' asks them to leave - it is rude. The same words, reversed, change a welcome into a dismissal.
Check: Small changes in wording change politeness - the chapter's language point.
Watch for this: Do not treat the two sentences as interchangeable - word order carries the whole meaning.
Now try it yourself
Add the endings: humour + -ous; love + -ly; embarrass + -ing.
Check your answer
humorous, lovely, embarrassing.
The chapter practises these word endings.
Try a mixed set
Choose a method or explanation before opening each answer.
1. Who wrote 'Say the Right Thing'?
Show answer and reason
G.C. Thornley.
A one-act play in Unit 2.
2. The two guests?
Show answer and reason
Mrs. Harding and Mrs. Lee (Mr. Harding's sister).
New neighbours in Lanfield.
3. Whose dog is Towzer?
Show answer and reason
The Hardings' - Mary's 'dirty dog' remark insults them.
'It's our dog.'
4. The final blunder?
Show answer and reason
She says 'Oh, must you stay? Can't you go?' - reversing the polite farewell.
Same words, opposite meaning.
Try it yourself
Work these on paper before checking any notes. Answers are deliberately not shown here.
- Why does Mrs. Shaw want the visit to go well?
- Write one polite sentence you could say to a guest who is leaving your home.
- Who is the funniest character in the play for you, and why?
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Questions about this practice page
- What is Say the Right Thing about?
- A humorous one-act play in which Mary Shaw tries to entertain her mother's guests and accidentally insults every one of them with her 'honest' remarks.
- Who wrote Say the Right Thing?
- G.C. Thornley.
- What is the play's main joke?
- Every comment Mary makes applies personally to one of the guests - and at the end she reverses her mother's polite farewell into 'Must you stay? Can't you go?'
- What lesson does the play suggest?
- Good conversation is not just talking - it means thinking about the listener, being kind, and choosing the right words for the moment.
- Are these the NCERT exercise questions for Class 7 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.