The Proposal

1. What does Chubukov at first suspect that Lomov has come for? Is he sincere when he
later says “And I’ve always loved you, my angel, as if you were my own son”? Find the
reasons for your answer from the play.

Answer

At first, Chubukov suspected that Lomov had come to borrow money. He was not sincere
when he told Lomov that he had always loved him and that he was like his own son. He had
decided that he would not give Lomov any money if he tried borrowing from him. If he truly
meant what he had said, then he would not have thought of not giving him money. He said
so only because Lomov had come with the proposal to marry his daughter.

2. Chubukov says of Natalya: “... as if she won’t consent! She’s in love; engaged, she’s like a
lovesick cat…” Would you agree? Find the reasons for your answer.

Answer

Chubukov thought that Lomov was a good marriage prospect for his daughter. He had been
waiting for this proposal. When Lomov expressed his doubt regarding Natalya’s consent to
the proposal, Chubukov immediately told him that she was in love with him. However, this
was not true. Natalya did not seem to be in love with Lomov at any point in the play. It
seemed like she was more attached to her land, meadows, and dogs than to Lomov. In fact,
the way they kept getting into arguments about trivial matters suggests that neither Lomov
nor Natalya was in love with the other.

3. (i) Find all the words and expressions in the play that the characters use to speak about
each other, and the accusations and insults they hurl at each other. (For example, Lomov, in
the end, calls Chubukov an intriguer; but earlier, Chubukov has himself called Lomov a
“malicious, double-faced intriguer.” Again, Lomov begins by describing Nayalya as “ an
excellent housekeeper, not bad-looking, well-educated.”)

Answer

(i) Several words and expressions have been used by the characters to describe each other.
Some of them are as follows:
Chubukov: grabber; intriguer; old rat; Jesuit
Natalya: a lovesick cat; an excellent housekeeper; not bad-looking, well-educated
Lomov: a good neighbor; a friend; impudent; pettifogger; a malicious, double-faced intriguer;
a rascal; blind hen; turnip-ghost; a villain; a scarecrow; monster; the stuffed sausage; the
wizen-faced frump; boy; pup; milksop; fool
Thinking about the Language

1. This play has been translated into English from the Russian original. Are there any
expressions or ways of speaking that strike you as more Russian than English? For
example, would an adult man be addressed by an older man as my darling or my treasure in
an English play?
Read through the play carefully, and find expressions that you think are not used in
contemporary English, and contrast these with idiomatic modern English expressions that
also occur in the play.

3. Look up the following phrases in a dictionary to find out their meaning, and then use each
in a sentence of your own.

(i) You may take it that

Answer

1. Expressions not used in contemporary English

1. “my darling”, “my beauty”, “my precious”, “my angel”, “my beloved” (here, an older man is
addressing an adult man)

2. “…and so on…” (here, it is used after a sentence in order to complete it)

3. “…and all that sort of thing.” (not explaining what it is, just leaving it as it is)

4. “...and all that.” (again leaving the sentence as it is)

5. “the Scarecrow”, “the stuffed sausage”, “the wizen-faced frump” (In this way, they hurled
insults at each other)

6. “And how may you be getting on?” (Here, Lomov is asking Chubukov about his
well-being)

Modern English expressions

1. “Madam”, “my heart”, “honored Natalya Stepanovna” (used by Lomov for Natalya)

2. “Honoured Stepan Stepanovitch” (used by Lomov for Chubukov)

4. “My dear fellow” (Chubukov addressing Lomov)

5. “malicious, double-faced intriguer”, “fool” (Chubukov insulting Lomov)

3.

(i)You may take it that I am lying, but in fact it will help you in the long run.

(ii) He seems to be coming round after the trauma of his father’s death.

(iii) After the three hour long yoga session, my foot’s gone to sleep.

II. You must have noticed that when we report someone’s exact words, we have to make
some changes in the sentence structure. In the following sentences fill in the blanks to list
the changes that have occurred in the above pairs of sentences. One has been done for
you.

1. To report a question, we use the reporting verb asked (as in Sentence Set 1).

2. To report a declaration, we use the reporting verb __________.

3. The adverb of place here changes to ___________.

4. When the verb indirect speech is in the present tense, the verb in reported speech is in
the ______________ tense (as in Sentence Set 3).

5. If the verb indirect speech is in the present continuous tense, the verb in reported speech
changes to ______________tense. For example, ____________ changes to was getting.

6. When the sentence in direct speech contains a word denoting respect, we add the adverb
_______________in the reporting clause (as in Sentence Set 1).

7. The pronouns I, me, our and mine, which are used in the first person in direct speech,
change to third person pronouns such as____________, ___________, ___________ or
__________in reported speech.
Answer

1. To report a question, we use the reporting verb asked.

2. To report a declaration, we use the reporting verb declared.

3. The adverb of place here changes to there.

4. When the verb indirect speech is in the present tense, the verb in reported speech is in
the past tense.

5. If the verb indirect speech is in the present continuous tense, the verb in reported speech
changes to past continuous tense. For example, am getting changes to was getting.

6. When the sentence in direct speech contains a word denoting respect, we add the adverb
respectfully in the reporting clause.

7. The pronouns I, me, our and mine, which are used in the first person in direct speech,
change to second person pronouns such as he/she, him/her, their or his/hers in reported
speech.

III. Here is an excerpt from an article from the Times of India dated 27 August 2006. Rewrite
it, changing the sentences in direct speech into reported speech. Leave the other sentences
unchanged.

“Why do you want to know my age? If people know I am so old, I won’t get work!” laughs
90-year-old A. K. Hangal, one of Hindi cinema’s most famous character actors. For his age,
he is rather energetic. “What’s the secret?” we ask. “My intake of everything is in small
quantities. And I walk a lot,” he replies. “I joined the industry when people retire. I was in my
40s. So I don’t miss being called a star. I am still respected and given work when actors of
my age are living in poverty and without work. I don’t have any complaints,” he says, adding,
“but yes, I have always been underpaid.” Recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Hangal never
hankered after money or materialistic gains. “No doubt I am content today, but money is
important. I was a fool not to understand the value of money earlier,” he regrets.

Answer

90-year-old A.K. Hangal, one of Hindi cinema’s most famous character actors, laughingly
asked why we wanted to know his age. If people knew he was that old, he would not get
work. For his age, he is rather energetic. We asked him what the secret was. He replied that
his intake of everything was in small quantities and he walked a lot. He said that he had
joined the industry when people retired. He had been in his 40s. So he did not miss being
called a star. He was still respected and given work when actors of his age were living in
poverty and without work. He said he did not have any complaints, adding that he had
always been underpaid. Recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Hangal never hankered after
money or materialistic gains. He said that no doubt he was content at present, but money
was important. He said regretfully that he was a fool not to understand the value of money
before.