Question 5 carried 20 of the 80 marks in the ICSE Class 10 English Language paper on 17 February 2026. The first three parts asked students to fill gaps and join sentences. The final eight marks came from rewriting sentences without changing their meaning. The answers below explain selected items from Paper 1, code T26 011.
How the grammar marks were split
| Part | What students had to do | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 5(i) | Supply the correct word forms in a passage | 4 |
| 5(ii) | Complete eight short sentences | 4 |
| 5(iii) | Join each pair without using “and”, “but” or “so” | 4 |
| 5(iv) | Choose and write the sentence that follows the given instruction | 8 |
Questions, Answers and Section Analysis
Why does the driver need two words in the fourth blank?
In 5(i), the driver stops the car to avoid hitting a cobra. The fourth blank takes to run. The words before the gap already supply the negative: the driver stopped so as not to run over it. “Ran” might look right because the story happened in the past, but the past tense belongs to the act of stopping. The second verb explains why the driver stopped.
Which word fits before “last May”?
In 5(ii)(e), the speaker has not seen Sonia from a particular point in the past up to the time of speaking. The answer is since. “For” would work with a length of time, such as six months. Here the paper gives a starting point, last May, so no calculation of the number of months is needed.
How do you join two negative statements about Ravi?
Question 5(iii)(2) says that Ravi does not work as a technician and does not work as a musician. Option (b) keeps both statements true by pairing neither with nor. An option that makes him a musician changes the facts, even if the sentence reads smoothly. The instruction also rules out joining the statements with “but”.
Why is “although” right for the construction question?
In 5(iii)(4), work began on schedule, yet bad weather delayed it. Option (a) uses “although” to keep that contrast. Starting on time did not cause the delay; the weather did. A sentence that starts with “since” makes the first fact sound like the reason for the second.
How do you keep the meaning of “one of the greatest”?
Question 5(iv)(1) asks for a comparison ending with the king's name. Option (c) says that very few Indian kings matched Samudragupta in greatness. The original puts him in a small group. Saying no other king was his equal would make him the only one at the top and would be a stronger claim than the question makes.
Which action happened first: finishing the exercise or putting the books away?
In 5(iv)(4), the student finishes his work first. Option (c) opens with “Having finished” and then gives the later action. The option that begins with putting the books away reverses the order. Both sentences can sound grammatical; only one tells the same story.
What does the sentence about Rashmi tell us about the first speech?
She arrived too late to hear it. In 5(iv)(6), option (d) keeps both the past tense and the result: she could not hear the first speech. Omitting “not” reverses the meaning. Switching to the present tense also changes the account, even if the rest of the sentence follows the requested pattern.
Open the ICSE 2026 English Language question paper page. Choose the board's ZIP download and open the paper marked 011 ENG1. For Question 5, use that paper rather than the shorter practice PDF. Try joining the four pairs of sentences before looking at the options. Does your sentence keep both original facts without using “and”, “but” or “so”?
