NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English Chapter 1 Learning Together (PDF) – 2027

Yes. Even with my eyes shut, the sounds around me tell me what is happening — who is awake, what the weather is like and what people are busy with.

In a way, yes. Trees, walls, pets and rivers are around us all day and “hear” our talk, laughter and tears, even though they cannot reply.

Her dream could be to go to school and learn to read, like her elder brother Ettan (Gopi) and Meena.

She is “bright”, but her parents work on the farm and she has three brothers, so she is probably kept at home to look after the little ones instead of going to school.

She could take the first step herself: go to the school, sit quietly and listen to the lessons, and show the teacher how much she wants to learn. The teacher could then talk to her parents for her.

Jahnavi’s dream was to go to school and learn to read, like Ettan and Meena.

Yes, it was very important to her. Since she was five she had been told “Maybe later” and “Maybe next year”, and she was now nearly ten. She was so hurt that she stopped “with a sob”. She also had so many questions — about spiders, bamboo, the moon and frogs — that only school could answer.

Yes. The River cannot take her to school, but it can give her courage. It listens to her, tells her that “little girls can do as much as little boys”, reminds her that she is not afraid of lizards, snakes or trains, and gives her a plan — slip into the school, sit and listen, and the teacher may let her stay.

Each blank cell is filled from the conversation on pages 3–4. The completed table is:

The tone of the River in the given extract is assuring.

It tells Jahnavi that she has no reason to cry or to be scared, because she comes there almost every day.

The phrase is: “when you have been coming here to see me every day, well, almost every day”.

The little correction — “well, almost every day” — makes it sound like someone who has actually been counting her visits, which is why the River knows her so well.

D. disbelief

Jahnavi cannot believe that a river could be speaking to her.

The three qualities are affectionate, thoughtful and kind-hearted.

‘Forgiving’ is wrong because Jahnavi has done nothing that needs forgiving, and ‘impatient’ is wrong because the River gives her its time.

According to the River, there was no difference between girls and boys because little girls can do as much as little boys — they swim as fast as little boys.

True.

The River does not offer to solve the problem for her. It says “it’s up to you”, tells her that girls can do as much as boys, and gives her a step she can take by herself — “slip along one morning and sit there in the school”. All of this is meant to build her faith in her own ability.

C. quietly

To ‘slip along’ is to go quietly, without being noticed.

It tells us how deep Jahnavi’s fear and self-doubt are. She wants to go to school but does not believe she can, so she gasps “I couldn’t” twice and adds, “They’d scare me! They’d chase me out.”

The writer describes the kingfisher, the green lizard, the parrots and the bamboo thicket to set the scene at the river bank and make it lively and real. This makes a talking River easier to believe. It also lets Jahnavi rule out the other creatures one by one before she realises the voice is the River’s. The bright, busy world also contrasts with her sad tears.

Jahnavi came to the river bank “every day, well, almost every day”, and the River had been watching and listening to her all that time.

A river also runs past everything in the village — the fields where her parents work, the bamboo clump where the snake lives, the bridge where the trains rattle past, and Chandu’s catamaran. So it knows her family, her fears and her surroundings without being told.

About Jahnavi: she is nearly ten and has lost hope. She has been told “Maybe later” and “Maybe next year” since she was five, so she now feels she is too old to start.

About the school: children in her village start school young — even little Ramu goes — so she would be older than the others in her class, and she feels ashamed of that.

The River laughed because it knew Jahnavi was not a timid girl at all. She was not afraid of the green lizard, the snake in the bamboo clump or the big trains rattling past the bridge, so the idea of her being scared of a school seemed funny.

Jahnavi should follow the River’s advice because it is simple and in her own hands. She does not need anyone’s permission to go and sit in the school and listen. Once the teacher sees how keen she is, the teacher can speak to her father. The story proves the advice right — the teacher visits her home and Jahnavi is allowed to go to school.

The conversation makes the story warm, lively and a little magical. The River is given a sleepy voice, a chuckle and a sense of humour (“So many whys!”), so it becomes a character we like. Through the talk Jahnavi pours out her feelings, and we learn about her family, the school and the ships without long descriptions.

The main message is that every child — a girl just as much as a boy — has the right to learn, and that we must find the courage to take the first step ourselves. Jahnavi was scared, but she went to school anyway, and her mother agrees that “Girls should learn as much as they want.”

The author uses a capital letter because the River is treated as a character, not a thing. It is given human qualities — it speaks, laughs, chuckles, prefers ships to trains and gives advice. So ‘River’ becomes its name, like a proper noun. Giving human qualities to a non-living thing is called personification.

shrieked

In the text: “It couldn’t be the parrots, because parrots shrieked and this was such a sleepy voice.”

splashed

In the text: “A big bright tear splashed down her nose.” The glossary on page 2 explains it as “fell in drops, making a sound”.

murmuring (the noun is murmur)

In the text: “said a sleepy, murmuring voice”. The glossary gives it as “speaking in a low voice”.

sob (in the text as a noun: “she stopped with a sob”)

A sob is the broken, gasping sound a person makes while crying hard — which is why Jahnavi cannot finish her sentence, “They only…”.

rustle

In the text, among Jahnavi’s questions: “why bamboo trees rustle”. The glossary on page 3 gives it as “light sound made by leaves rubbing against each other”.

gasped

In the text: “‘I couldn’t,’ gasped Jahnavi.” The word shows that the River’s suggestion has frightened her so much that her breath catches.

rattling

In the text: “or the big trains rattling past that bridge”. The glossary on page 4 gives it as “noise made by shaking things”.

noisy

In the text: “Trains are noisy; I prefer ships,” said the River.

wailed

In the text: “‘They’d never let me!’ wailed Jahnavi.” The glossary on page 4 explains this use as “complained in a loud voice”.

(i) noisy   (ii) rustle   (iii) gasped   (iv) wailed   (v) murmur (from murmuring)   (vi) shrieked

The completed passage reads: “The classroom grew noisy as the students noticed the teacher carrying the answer papers. As the teacher turned the pages with a rustle, the children gasped, wondering what comments awaited. Someone wailed in frustration, and the murmur of the students steadily increased. Finally, when the teacher praised the students for their excellent performance, the students shrieked with excitement.”

karma — from Sanskrit karma, ‘action, deed’.

In English it means the belief that a person’s actions decide what happens to them later; in everyday English it is used loosely for “what goes around comes around”.

sahib — borrowed into English from Urdu/Hindi sāhib (which itself came into those languages from Arabic).

It is a respectful form of address meaning ‘sir’, ‘master’ or ‘gentleman’. In colonial India it was added after a name — Ram Singh sahib — and the form memsahib was used for a lady.

chutney — from Hindi chatni (related to chatna, ‘to lick’).

It means a thick, spicy relish made by grinding fruit, vegetables or herbs with chillies, salt and spices. English took the word along with the food itself.

guru — from Sanskrit guru, ‘heavy, weighty’, hence ‘a person of weight; a teacher’.

In English it means a spiritual teacher or guide, and now also any recognised expert — “a management guru”.

verandah — borrowed from Hindi baramda / varanda (the Hindi word itself probably came from Portuguese varanda).

It means a roofed, open gallery or porch running along the outside of a house.

jungle — from Hindi jangal (from Sanskrit jangala).

In Hindi it means wild, uncultivated land; in English it came to mean a thick tropical forest with tangled vegetation.

areca — from Malayalam adakka / Kannada adike (again carried into English through Portuguese).

It is the areca palm and its nut — the supari chewed with betel leaf. English still calls the tree the areca palm and the nut the areca nut.

palanquin — from an Indian word for a litter (Hindi palki, Odia palanki, from Sanskrit palyanka, ‘bed, couch’), which reached English through Portuguese palanquim.

It is a covered litter for one person, carried on poles on the shoulders of four or more bearers.

Draw the boat you chose in your notebook and colour it. Show its shape, how it is moved (paddle, oar, pole or sail), the water around it, and write its name as a label.

Across: 1. SHIP   2. BOAT   3. RAFT   4. STEAMER
Down: 5. CANOE   6. TUGBOAT   7. YACHT

1. at   2. outside   3. inside   4. between   5. about   6. about

“On her first day at school, Jahnavi stood nervously outside the gate… she hurried inside the bustling classroom. She found a seat between two friendly classmates… started the lesson about numbers… feeling excited about the new adventure ahead.”

onto — “The cat jumped onto the table.”

Onto is followed by the object the table, so it is a preposition. (on or off would also work, depending on where the cat began.)

outside — “The children played outside until dark.”

Nothing follows outside here; it simply tells us where they played, so it is an adverb. (outdoors works equally well.)

through — “She quickly ran through the park.”

The park is the object of through, so it is a preposition. (across, towards or around would also be correct prepositions here.)

above — “The helicopter was hovering above.”

No noun follows it, so above is being used as an adverb. (overhead is just as good.)

along — “We were just walking along, chatting.”

Along stands alone and describes how the walking went on, so it is an adverb.

in — “After thoroughly wiping his shoes, he stepped in.”

In has no object after it, so it is an adverb. (inside is also correct.)

around — “She drove slowly around the sharp curve.”

The sharp curve is the object, so around is a preposition. (round is the same word in British usage.)

under — “He placed the keys under the mat before leaving.”

The mat is the object of under, so it is a preposition showing position.

Words used by the speakers: careers, homemaker, books (and principal, if your teacher reads out the fifth speaker’s title).

1 — (v) Principal
3 — (i) Father
4 — (iv) Student
6 — (ii) Grandmother
7 — (iii) Teacher
Not needed: 2 and 5

Say the same words, but change your tone, speed and loudness for each feeling. Happy — bright and quick; surprised — a sudden high pitch on “Dear, dear!”; angry — loud and sharp; scared — soft and shaky; sad — slow and low; worried — uneven, with small pauses.

Rivers are sacred in India because they give life. People first settled on river banks; rivers gave water for drinking and farming and carried boats. So they came to be worshipped, and festivals such as Chhath and the Kumbh Mela are held on their banks.

Most are called female because, like a mother, a river feeds, cleans and cares for everyone — so we say Ganga Maiya or Narmada Maa. A few large, fast, powerful rivers, such as the Brahmaputra (‘son of Brahma’) and the Sone, are thought of as male.

Go round the class and list every language each student can speak. Count how many students speak each one, and display the list on chart paper with a title.

Sample chart — The Languages of Class VII-A:

I can see four smiling schoolgirls sitting at a desk in a classroom. They wear bright kurtas — teal-green, mustard and orange — and have hairbands and clips in their plaited hair. One girl is writing in a notebook with a pencil. On the left, on a dark green panel, is the message “The Happiness of a Nation lies in the Dignity of its Daughters”, with the words ‘its Daughters’ in orange.

The girls look happy because they are in school, learning and sitting with their friends. They have been given the chance to study, which many girls in the past did not get, and they are treated with respect, so they feel confident.

Dignity and happiness go together. When a girl is treated with respect — allowed to study, to choose and to speak — she feels valued, and that makes her happy. Without dignity no one can be truly happy. That is why Jahnavi cries at the river bank: she is not being allowed to learn.

When daughters are happy, educated and respected, they can use their talents fully. They become doctors, teachers, farmers, scientists and leaders and add to the country’s work and income. An educated mother also makes sure her own children go to school. So the whole nation becomes healthier, richer and fairer.

Some more schemes for the girl child: Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, CBSE Udaan, and the National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education.

To spread awareness, make a simple handout or poster about one scheme — who it is for and what it gives — and share it with families in your neighbourhood.

1. Bees on a honeycomb — teamwork and hard work.
2. A spider in its web — patience and perseverance.
3. Geese flying together — cooperation.
4. A weaver bird with its hanging nest — skill and hard work.
5. Ants marching in a line — discipline and teamwork.
6. An apple tree full of fruit — patience brings its reward.

All of them teach us to keep working steadily and never give up.

1. low   2. great   3. despair   4. mounted   5. attempts   6. conquered   7. strive   8. tried

We can say that the poet uses the narrative style because the poem tells a story in order — King Bruce is about to give up, he watches a spider climb again and again until it succeeds, and then he tries once more and wins.

The central idea of the poem is perseverance — that failure is not final, and that anyone who keeps trying after every fall will finally succeed.

1. “It soon began to cling and crawl / Straight up with strong endeavour”
2. “Up, up it ran, not a second to stay, / To utter the least complaint”
3. “Again it fell and swung below, / But again it quickly mounted”

1. “It soon began to cling and crawl” — the /k/ sound
2. “Straight up with strong endeavour” — the /s/ sound
3. “And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind” — the /b/ sound

The poet repeats these words to show how hard and how often the King and the spider kept trying. “Tried and tried” shows many attempts; “steadily, steadily” shows slow, careful progress; “up, up” shows quick, eager effort. The repetition makes us feel the effort and strengthens the message: keep trying.

ABAB

Check it in another stanza: glad / succeed / sad rhyme as deed–glad–succeed–sad → ABAB again.

interjection

It expresses a sudden feeling of joy and praise: “Bravo, bravo!” the King cried out.

rhythm

‘’Twas’ and ‘’tis’ are short forms of ‘it was’ and ‘it is’. Using them removes one syllable and keeps the beat of the line smooth.

(i) S   (ii) M   (iii) S   (iv) S   (v) M   (vi) M   (vii) S   (viii) S   (ix) M

A simile uses like, as or as…as; a metaphor says one thing is another.

This is a metaphor, so turn it into a simile by putting in like or as…as:

• The book was like a treasure chest, filled with endless adventures.
• The book was as full of surprises as a treasure chest.

Metaphor → simile:

• Her laughter was like a melody that brightened the darkest days.
• Her laughter was as cheering as a melody on the darkest days.

This one uses “as a guard”, so it works as a simile. Turn it into a metaphor by removing the comparison word:

• The mountain was a guard, watching over the valley below.
• The mountain, a silent guard, watched over the valley below.

Simile → metaphor, by dropping like:

• The night was a velvet cloak, wrapping the world in mystery.

Simile → metaphor:

• Her thoughts were butterflies in a summer meadow.

The phrase is “flung himself down”.

His body does what his mind feels. Despair pulls a person downward, and the King throws himself down rather than sitting; the word flung adds the violence of a man who has given up.

The word ‘low’ shows how deep his despair was — he had lost almost all hope. It also matches the downward movement of the line, “flung himself down in low despair”, before the spider’s climb lifts him up again.

B. thought

To ponder is to think about something long and seriously. The line that follows proves it — he reaches a decision: “‘I’ll give it all up,’ said he.” Only thinking, not pausing or resting, ends in a decision.

very delicate and soft

‘Silken’ means soft and smooth like silk, and ‘filmy’ means very thin.

A. roll : tumble

In both pairs the two words are closely linked in meaning: toil is hard work, and to tumble is to fall and roll over.

1. Perseverance — “once more” tells us this is not the first attempt but one of many; it has fallen repeatedly and is climbing again.
2. Courage / an uncomplaining spirit — it goes up, straight back towards the danger, without pausing to rest or, as the poet says earlier, “To utter the least complaint”.

B. stress

The words around it prove it: “’tis an anxious minute” and “Oh say, will he lose or win it?” The speaker is tense because the spider is only a foot from its door and could still fall. Relief would come afterwards, when the spider is safely home.

Readers are able to relate to this extract because everyone has felt that “anxious minute” when they are very close to their goal and afraid of failing at the last step.

The first stanza sets a sad, hopeless mood. King Bruce “flung himself down / In a lonely mood to think”; though he is a king who wears a crown, “his heart was beginning to sink”. Starting so low makes his later rise, and his final success, feel stronger.

At the beginning King Bruce is sad and hopeless — “I’ll give it all up,” he says. Watching the spider, he first thinks it is a “foolish thing” that will stop trying, and then he grows anxious for it. When it reaches its web he cries “Bravo, bravo!” and says, “He conquered, and why shouldn’t I?” At the end he is determined: he tries once more and succeeds.

It shows that the poet respects and admires the spider. She counts its “Nine brave attempts”, uses brave words for it — “strong endeavour”, “defied despair”, “He conquered” — and even calls it ‘he’. She makes the small spider the real hero of the poem.

The spider falls again and again, but it never complains and never gives up. Each time it steadies itself and climbs again, even when the King calls it a “foolish thing”. At last it reaches its web. This teaches us that a fall is not the end — if we keep trying, we too can overcome despair and succeed.

Each failure brings the spider a little closer to its goal. It falls “as near to the ground as ever”, then even lower, but next time it climbs “a half-yard higher”. After nine brave attempts it finally reaches its web. King Bruce, too, had “tried and tried” before he succeeded. So failures are not wasted — they are steps towards success, if we keep trying.

In the poem a tiny spider teaches a great king not to give up. King Bruce has a crown and a kingdom, but it is a small creature on a thin thread that gives him the courage to try again. This shows that inspiration can come from anyone — a small child, a classmate, a grandmother or even a tiny creature — if we watch and learn.

up × down

Both appear in the poem: “Up, up it ran” and “He flung himself down in low despair.”

fast × slow

The poem itself puts the pair together: “Till up and down, now fast, now slow, / Nine brave attempts were counted.”

glad × sad

Both are in the second stanza: “To make his people glad… And so he became quite sad.”

win × lose

The poet uses them side by side: “Oh say, will he lose or win it?”

succeed × fail

Again both are in the poem: “He had tried and tried, but couldn’t succeed” and, at the end, “that time did not fail.”

endeavour = 3. an attempt to do something new or difficult

“Make every endeavour” means “make every possible attempt”. In the poem: “It soon began to cling and crawl / Straight up with strong endeavour.”

toil = 1. work very hard and/or for a long time

In the poem: “When it toils so hard to reach and cling, / And tumbles every time.”

strive = 4. to try very hard to achieve something

In the poem: “‘Sure,’ cried the King, ‘that foolish thing / Will strive no more to climb.’”

braced = 2. prepared themselves for something difficult

In the poem: “And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind” — that is, he steadied and prepared his mind for one more attempt.

It is hard to say quickly because ‘thread’ and ‘tread’ sound almost the same — only the ‘th’ and the ‘t’ are different. Say it slowly first, then faster.

Tongue twisters of my own:

• Three thin threads on a thick tin tray.
• Six shy spiders spun sixty silken strings.
• Bruce’s brave brown spider braced and bravely climbed.
• The rural jeweller’s really lovely yellow lorry.
• Kaka kaki ko kekada khilata hai.

(i) determination

The transcript says it in the second sentence: “She was known for her determination and never-give-up attitude.”

(ii) It was too heavy to carry.

“She tried to lift the crumb with all her might, but it was too heavy. She tried pushing it, pulling it and even rolling it, but nothing seemed to work.”

(iii) picking up leaves

“The bird was trying to build a nest. It picked up twigs and leaves, but every time it tried to place them, the wind would blow them away.” It was building, not hunting for food.

(ii) inspired

“‘If that bird can keep trying and succeed, then I shouldn’t give up either,’ she thought, feeling inspired.”

(iii) by joining the ant in her efforts

“She called her fellow ants for help. Together, they formed a chain and lifted the crumb with their combined strength.” They worked with her; they did not merely advise or watch.

1. (i) determination   2. (ii) It was too heavy to carry.   3. (iii) picking up leaves   4. (ii) inspired   5. (iii) by joining the ant in her efforts

Tick each guess that matches and correct the others.

Collect nature songs from grandparents, neighbours and elders. Write each song down with its meaning, when it is sung and who sang it, and put them together in a class booklet.

• A spider has 8 legs; an ant has 6.
• A spider’s body has 2 parts; an ant’s has 3 (head, thorax and abdomen).
• A spider has no antennae; an ant has a pair of antennae.
• A spider spins silk and makes a web; an ant does not.
• A spider usually lives alone; ants live together in colonies.

Follow the four figures on page 27. Cross the three sticks at the centre and tie them tightly with wool (Fig. 1). Going round and round, loop the wool once around each stick, spiralling outward (Figs. 2 and 3). Near the ends of the sticks, knot the wool to a stick (Fig. 4). Then decorate the web with phrases from the poem, such as “strong endeavour” and “defied despair”.

Yes, it would be very different. Without sight and hearing I would miss the colours of the sea and the sky and the roar of the waves. But I would notice other things more — the salty smell, the hot sand, the cold water on my feet and the wind on my face.

The true statements are 3, 4, 6 and 7.

She understands a person’s feelings through her fingertips. By touching a face she feels its outline and can “detect laughter, sorrow and other obvious emotions”. As she says, “I know my friends from the feel of their faces.”

It symbolises the perfect balance and beauty of nature — even an ordinary leaf is made with order and care, and Helen Keller can feel this with her fingers.

1. “the smooth skin of a silver birch”
2. “the rough, shaggy bark of a pine”

The phrase ‘awakening Nature after her winter’s sleep’ refers to the coming of spring, when trees that stood bare and lifeless through the winter put out their first buds and the whole natural world begins to grow again.

C. admiring

She speaks with quiet wonder about the leaf, the bark, the buds and the singing bird.

C. knowledge

‘Thrilling’ means very exciting. We say a thrilling experience, a thrilling tale or a thrilling adventure, but we do not usually call knowledge ‘thrilling’.

Before sunrise the earth is dark, still and quiet, like a sleeping person. When the sun rises, it “awakens” the earth and fills it with light, colour and movement.

The writer wishes to dedicate the day to a brief look at the present and past world because she has only one day for it, and in the museums she can see the whole history of the earth and of man’s progress in one place.

She uses ‘should’ because she is only imagining what she would do if she could see for three days. It is a wish, not something that has really happened, and repeating ‘should’ keeps the whole passage in this imagined world.

Helen Keller could neither see nor hear, but touch gave her a great deal. Through touch she feels “the delicate symmetry of a leaf”, the smooth bark of a birch and the rough bark of a pine, the first buds of spring and even “the happy quiver of a bird in full song”. She knows her friends “from the feel of their faces”. So touch makes up for much of what she has lost.

She believes sight is the most wonderful sense because even “mere touch” gives her so much pleasure. She says, “If I can get so much pleasure from mere touch, how much more beauty must be revealed by sight.” Sight would also let her look into a friend’s heart through the eye, “that window of the soul”, and see things like the dawn, which cannot be touched.

Her advice to use every sense “as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind” makes us imagine life without a sense. This helps us understand people with special abilities. We learn to respect them instead of pitying them, to see how much they can do, and to help in practical ways — Braille books, screen readers, ramps — so that they are included in everything.

According to the author, imagining the loss of a sense makes us value it and use it fully. We take our senses for granted. If we imagine that we might lose them tomorrow, we will look, listen, touch, smell and taste more carefully and enjoy the world more.

She encourages people to use every sense fully, as if they would lose it tomorrow. We should use our eyes as if we would be blind tomorrow, hear voices, birdsong and music as if we would be deaf tomorrow, touch each object with care, and smell and taste with relish. In her words, “Make the most of every sense.”

Her choices show that she values people, knowledge and ordinary human life most. Day 1 is for the friends who made her life worth living (love and gratitude). Day 2 is for the dawn and the museums (curiosity and learning). Day 3 is for watching ordinary people in the city (care and compassion). She does not choose riches or famous sights.

The verbs to be underlined are the pairs shown in bold:

• I should divide the period into three parts.
• On the first day, I should want to see…
• The next day I should arise with the dawn…
• I should behold with awe…

Modal verb: can — function: ability

It says that you are able to learn from the experience.

Modal verb: might — function: possibility

It is not certain that they will be late; the traffic makes it possible.

Modal verb: must — function: necessity

There is no choice about it — finishing the homework before dinner is required.

Modal verb: ought to — function: moral obligation

Nobody is forcing them; apologising is simply the right thing to do.

Modal verb: would — function: polite request

“He would like…” is the courteous form of “He wants…”, and the word please confirms it.

1. May I leave early today if I finish all my tasks? — permission
2. I must finish this report by tomorrow. — obligation
3. You should consider all the pros and cons before making a decision. — advice
4. It might rain later today. — possibility
5. Could you pass the salt, please? — polite request
6. You ought to apologise for the mistake you made. — moral obligation
7. We could go to any park nearby for picnic. — suggestion

The four true statements are 3, 4, 6 and 7.

Statements 1, 2 and 5 are false: Anuj only mentions Braille, Mother is pleased with the school’s efforts, and Anuj did not know that visually impaired people can use computers.

Sample answer — the name RAM in Braille:

Write your own name in the same way — one six-dot cell for each letter — and stick a bindi or a grain of daal on every raised dot.

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed every year on 3 December. In India, the President gives the National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities; aids such as tricycles, hearing aids and Braille kits are given out; and schools hold assemblies, inclusive sports and awareness programmes.

Indian Sign Language (ISL) is a complete language used by deaf people in India. Signs are made with the shape and movement of the hands, the place where they are made and facial expressions. ISL also has a two-handed alphabet for spelling out names.