Haryana Board (HBSE) Class 7 English Half Yearly Question Paper 2026 Answer Key
Instructions :
• All questions are compulsory.
• Questions 1 to 15 carry 1 mark each.
• Questions 16 to 21 carry 2 marks each.
• Questions 22 to 27 carry 3 marks each.
• Questions 28 to 30 carry 5 marks each.
1. Fill in the blank with correct form of verb :
Yesterday I went to meet my friend. He …………. a book when I reached his house.
(a) reads
(b) were reading
(c) was reading
(d) had read
Answer – (c) was reading
2. Students ………….. pay their fee by the end of this month. (strong obligation)
(a) will
(b) must
(c) can
(d) should
Answer – (b) must
3. …………. Earth revolves round the Sun. (Article)
(a) A
(b) An
(c) The
(d) none of these
Answer – (c) The
4. When everybody has long hair, the rebel cuts his hair short. What is the antonym of the underlined word ‘Long’ here?
(a) beautiful
(b) cut
(c) hair
(d) short
Answer – (d) short
5. Who saw Meena with a glass of milk in her hand?
(a) Her Amma
(b) Ravi
(c) Her Paati
(d) Mridu
Answer – (c) Her Paati (grandmother)
6. While everybody is praising the sun, the rebel ………….
(a) regrets the absence of sun
(b) also praises the sun
(c) remarks on the need for rain
(d) demands for the air
Answer – (c) remarks on the need for rain
7. The king finally decided to seek the advice of a certain …………..
(a) farmer
(b) teacher
(c) hermit
(d) lawyer
Answer – (c) hermit
8. I do not need a calculator. I …………… do sums in my head. (Modal Verb)
(a) can
(b) could
(c) may
(d) might
Answer – (a) can
9. Ramesh was ill, so he ………….. (go) to bed early.
(a) go
(b) goes
(c) went
(d) going
Answer – (c) went
10. The squirrel, for his tail, wore a …………..
(a) a question mark
(b) an exclamatory sign
(c) an arrow mark
(d) a comma
Answer – (a) a question mark
11. What was the name of the little dog?
Answer – Muko
12. ‘Classroom’ is a compound word. (True / False)
Answer – True
13. Who is the poet of the poem ‘Chivvy’?
Answer – Michael Rosen
14. What was the colour of the coat of the squirrel?
Answer – Grey
15. Choose the correct spelling : (Discipline / Desipline)
Answer – Discipline
16. What was Mr. Gessler’s complaint against big firms?
Answer – Big firms were making money by advertisement and they didn’t make good quality boots.
17. What was the most enjoyable thing for Kari in the morning?
Answer – The most enjoyable thing for Kari in the morning was taking a bath in the river.
18. “How can I learn to do the right thing at the right time?” Who said these words, and to whom?
Answer – These words were said by the King to the Hermit in the story “Three Questions.”
19. Why did the king want to know the answers to the three questions?
Answer – The king wanted to know the answers to the three questions so that he could make wise decisions and never fail in his work.
20. Two sentences are given below. Identify in which sentence the word ‘run’ is used as a noun and in which sentence it is used as a verb.
(a) They run every morning to stay fit.
Answer – Verb
(b) The marathon was the longest run of her life.
Answer – Noun
21. How does Ravi get milk for the kitten?
Answer – Ravi gets milk for the kitten cleverly from the kitchen by pretending that he is hungry.
27. Read the extract given below and answer the following questions :
He liked to tease and play,
And if we ran around his tree,
He went the other way.
(a) Name the poem and its poet.
Answer – Poem : The Squirrel, Poet : Mildred Bowers Armstrong
(b) Who went the other way?
Answer – The squirrel
(c) Use the word ‘run’ in a sentence of your own.
Answer – He can run very fast.
28. How did the dog repay the love of his master and his wife in the lesson “The Ashes That Made Trees Bloom”?
Answer – The dog made his masters rich by giving them gold coins. His masters became prosperous with it and bought a piece of land. He then asked them to collect the ashes which had the power to sprout blossoms of a withered tree. This magic was seen by the daimio and rewarded the old couple for this magic.
8. What is the central idea of the poem ‘The Rebel’?
Answer – The behaviour of Rebel who oppose everything done by an ordinary person.
11. Why do ants want alien creatures to live in their nests?
Answer – Because some give off a pleasant smell to the aunt senses, others give sweet juices and some are kept as pets.
12. Why did Mr. Gessler fail to recognize the author?
Answer – Mr. Gessler always looked tired and weary. His memory was weakened and he could not recognize the author.
13. Why did Daimo reward the farmer but punish his neighbour for the same act?
Answer – The daimio rewarded the farmer because the ashes made the withered cherry tree bloom beautifully. The neighbor, however, was punished because his ashes blew into the daimio’s and his wife’s faces, making them angry. The farmer was rewarded for his honesty and good intentions, while the neighbor was punished for greed and selfishness.
14. Where do the decorative plants grow? What does the poetess compare these decorative plants to?
Answer – The decorative plants grow in small pots and pans. The poetess compares them to patients in a hospital because they look weak and confined. Like patients longing for fresh air, the plants also seem to desire freedom and sunlight outside artificial surroundings.
6. “When everybody talks during the lesson, The rebel doesn’t say a word. When nobody talks during the lesson, The rebel creates a disturbance” – Explain these lines.
Answer – A rebel is a person who does the things opposite to the normal human beings. It is good to have rebels, but it is not good for oneself to be a rebel.
7. Describe ant’s life briefly. Why ant’s life is very peaceful?
Answer – An ant is the smallest and wisest animal. There is a proper distribution of jobs in the ant’s community. No ant interfere in the job of other ants. So an ant’s life is peaceful.
27.
28. What are three important lessons we can learn from ants, as described in “The Tiny Teacher”? Provide reasons for your choices.
Answer – Three important lessons we learn from ants in “The Tiny Teacher” are hard work, discipline, and teamwork. Ants are always busy and work continuously to collect food, which teaches us the value of hard work. They live in a well-organized society where every ant follows certain rules, showing discipline. Ants also work together and help each other in building their homes and gathering food, which teaches us the importance of teamwork.
29. Read the following stanza and answer the following questions :
Trees are for the wind to blow through.
Trees are to hide behind in ‘Hide and Seek.’
Trees are to have tea parties under.
Trees are for kites to get caught in.
Trees are to make cool shade in summer.
Trees are to make no shade in winter.
Questions :
(a) Name the poem and the poet.
Answer – Poem : Trees, Poet : Shirtey Bauer
(b) What is one reason mentioned for why trees are important during summer?
Answer – Trees give cool shade during summer.
(c) How does a tree prove to be beneficial during summers?
Answer – Trees provide cool shade and protect people from the heat of the sun.
(d) What happens to kites when they come in contact with trees?
Answer – The kites get caught in the branches of trees.
(e) In which game are trees used to hide behind?
Answer – In the game of ‘Hide and Seek.’
30. Read the following comprehension passage and answer the following questions :
“He played a few notes. Lalli stumbled behind him on her violin, which looked quite helpless and unhappy in her hands. What a difference! The music-master’s notes seemed to float up and settle perfectly into the invisible tracks of the melody. It was like the wheels of a train fitting smoothly into the rails and whizzing along, as Ravi said. Mridu stared at that huge, beringed hand moving effortlessly up the violin’s stem, making lovely music.”
Questions :
(i) What instrument did Lalli play?
Answer – Lalli played violin.
(ii) How did Lalli’s violin look in her hands?
Answer – Violin looked quite helpless and unhappy in her hands.
(iii) What did Mridu compare the music-master’s notes to?
Answer – The music-master’s notes seemed to float up and settle perfectly into the invisible tracks of melody. It was like the wheels of a train.
(iv) What did Mridu notice about the music-master’s hand while he was playing?
Answer – Mridu started at that huge beringed hand moving effortlessly up the violin’s stem making lovely music.
(v) How did the music-master’s notes affect the melody?
Answer – The music master notes seemed to float up and settle perfectly into the invisible tracks of the melody.