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Thursday, July 9, 2026

ASSEB CLASS XI ENGLISH HORNBILL CHAPTER 1: The Portrait of a Lady PREVIOUS YEARS QUESTIONS

"The Portrait of a Lady" (Khushwant Singh) - Class XI Previous Year Board Exam Questions


Section A: AHSEC (Assam) HS 1st Year English Board Exam - Genuine Board Exam Questions

No. Question Year Exam / Board
1 Why was it hard for the author to believe that his grandmother was once young and pretty? 2011, 2012 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
2 Mention three ways in which the author's grandmother spent her days after he grew up. 2011, 2017 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
3 How does Khushwant Singh describe his grandmother in "The Portrait of a Lady"? 2013 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
4 Explain: "Old, so terribly old that she could not have grown older." 2014 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
5 How could the grandmother be "beautiful" without being "pretty"? 2014 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
6 Why did the grandmother always accompany the author to school in the village? 2014, 2017 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
7 How did the sparrows react to the death of the author's grandmother? 2015, 2016 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
8 What is the difference between village school education and urban (city) school education as brought out in the lesson? 2015 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
9 Mention three reasons why the author's grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school. 2016 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
10 What are the different ways in which we come to know that the author's grandmother was a deeply religious person? 2017 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
11 Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change? 2017, 2022 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
12 Would you agree that the author's grandmother was a person strong in character? Give instances that show this. 2018 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
13 Give two examples of the author's grandmother's love of animals. 2018 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
14 Why have the sparrows refused to eat the crumbs of bread on the death of the author's grandmother? 2019 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
15 How did the author's grandfather look in his portrait? 2020, 2021 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
16 How did the author's grandmother prepare to take him to the village school? 2020, 2021 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
17 How did the author's grandmother look? (Physical description) 2021 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
18 Why did the author's grandmother not like his city school? 2021 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
19 How do you know that the author's grandmother was a deeply religious person? 2022, 2025 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
20 How did the grandmother celebrate the homecoming of the author? 2022, 2025 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
21 Why did the grandmother always accompany the author to the school (city context)? 2022 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
22 Give a pen picture of the narrator's grandfather as he appeared in the portrait. 2023 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
23 Why did the narrator's grandmother give the impression of a "winter landscape in the mountains"? 2023 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
24 Why was it hard for the author to believe that his grandmother had a divine beauty? 2024 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam
25 How did the sparrows mourn the grandmother's death? 2024 AHSEC - HS 1st Year Final Exam

Section B: "CBSE" Class 11 (School / Pre-Board Pattern) Questions

These are compiled by coaching/notes websites as "CBSE Class 11" questions, drawn from school unit tests and pre-boards following the NCERT Hornbill syllabus. Since CBSE has no official Class XI board paper, treat the year tags below as indicative of when a school/pre-board test used the question, not an official CBSE archive.

No. Question Year Exam
1 How does Khushwant Singh describe his grandmother in "The Portrait of a Lady"? 2013 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)
2 Give the author's views about the grandmother's apprehension for music. 2014 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)
3 Have you known someone like the author's grandmother? Do you feel the same sense of loss with regard to someone whom you have loved and lost? 2014 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)
4 Mention three ways in which the author's grandmother spent her days after he grew up. 2012, 2017 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)
5 Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change? 2012, 2015, 2017 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)
6 How did the sparrows react to the death of the author's grandmother? 2015, 2016 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)
7 What is the difference between village school education and urban school education as brought out in the lesson "The Portrait of a Lady"? 2015 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)
8 Mention three reasons why the author's grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school. 2016 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)
9 Describe the childhood days spent in the village by the author with his grandmother. 2018 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)
10 Give two examples of the author's grandmother's love of animals. 2018 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)
11 Why have the sparrows refused to eat the crumbs of bread on the death of the author's grandmother? 2019 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)
12 Give a description of the author's grandmother after your reading of "The Portrait of a Lady". 2019 CBSE Class 11 (School/Pre-Board pattern)

Most Frequently Repeated Questions (across both boards)

  • How did the sparrows react to / mourn the death of the grandmother? (appears in 2015, 2016, 2019, 2024)
  • Three reasons the grandmother was disturbed by city school / music lessons (appears in 2014, 2016, 2021)
  • Three ways the grandmother spent her days after the author grew up (appears in 2011, 2012, 2017)
  • Describe/explain how the grandmother was "beautiful but not pretty" (appears in 2014, 2019, 2024)
  • Changing relationship between the author and his grandmother across the three phases (appears in 2012, 2015, 2017, 2022)

Short Answer Type Questions (2-3 Marks)

  • Question: Why was the grandmother unhappy with the author's city education?
    Exam & Year: CBSE (KVS) 2016, 2019 | AHSEC 2015, 2022
  • Question: How did the sparrows express their sorrow when the author's grandmother died?
    Exam & Year: CBSE 2017, 2021 | AHSEC 2020
  • Question: What was the turning point in the friendship between the author and his grandmother?
    Exam & Year: CBSE 2015, 2018 | AHSEC 2017
  • Question: How did the grandmother spend her time in the city?
    Exam & Year: CBSE 2018, 2020 | AHSEC 2016
  • Question: Why didn't the grandmother pray in the evening on the day the author returned from abroad?
    Exam & Year: CBSE (NCT Delhi) 2017 | AHSEC 2019
  • Question: Describe the author's grandfather as he looked in his portrait.
    Exam & Year: CBSE 2014, 2019 | AHSEC 2018

Long Answer Type Questions (5-6 Marks)

  • Question: The grandmother was a very religious and pious lady. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?
    Exam & Year: CBSE 2018, 2020 | AHSEC 2016, 2018
  • Question: Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?
    Exam & Year: CBSE 2016, 2019, 2022 | AHSEC 2015, 2021
  • Question: Draw a character sketch of the author's grandmother as portrayed in the lesson "The Portrait of a Lady".
    Exam & Year: CBSE (KVS) 2015, 2017 | AHSEC 2014, 2019, 2023
  • Question: Mention the three phases of the author's relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.
    Exam & Year: CBSE 2014, 2021 | AHSEC 2017, 2020
  • Question: "Everybody's grandmother is a pretty woman." Compare and contrast the author's grandmother with the modern-day grandmothers.
    Exam & Year: CBSE (NCT Delhi) 2018

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Revision (পুণৰালোচনা) Exercise R-1 (অনুশীলনী R-1) 1. বৰ্গমূলৰ দ্বাৰা \( \sqrt{2} \) ৰ আনুমানিক মান দুই দশমিক স্থানলৈ উলিওৱা। সমাধানঃ ...