School Life
Exam Time — Have you studied for the test?
Exam Time — conversations every Indian student has! Learn the right phrases for these important school moments.
Practice these dialogues at home. Click 🇮🇳 for Hindi translations!
💬 Dialogue 1: Exams are next week
📍 Exams are next week. Aarav and Rahul discuss studying.
👦 Aarav:Rahul, have you started studying for the exams?
राहुल, क्या तुमने exams की पढ़ाई शुरू कर दी?
👦 Rahul:Yes, I finished Science yesterday. But I haven’t started English yet!
हाँ, मैंने कल Science पूरी कर ली। लेकिन English अभी शुरू नहीं की!
👦 Aarav:Me neither! English grammar is so confusing.
मैंने भी नहीं! English grammar बहुत confusing है।
👦 Rahul:Want to study together? We can help each other.
साथ में पढ़ेंगे? हम एक-दूसरे की मदद कर सकते हैं।
👦 Aarav:Great idea! Let’s meet at my house tomorrow at 4.
बढ़िया विचार! कल 4 बजे मेरे घर मिलते हैं।
👦 Rahul:I’ll bring my notes. And let’s also solve last year’s question paper.
मैं अपने notes लाऊँगा। और पिछले साल का question paper भी solve करते हैं।
👦 Aarav:Smart plan! Together we can crack this exam!
होशियार plan! साथ मिलकर हम ये exam crack कर सकते हैं!
✏️ Your Turn — Fill in the Blanks
Have you started ?
Let’s study !
Let’s solve the question .
💬 Dialogue 2: Priya is stressed about the math exam
📍 Priya is stressed about the math exam. Mummy helps her.
👧 Priya:Mummy, I’m scared about the Maths exam. I don’t understand fractions!
मम्मी, मुझे Maths exam से डर लग रहा है। मुझे fractions समझ नहीं आते!
👩 Mummy:Don’t worry, beta. Let’s practice together. Show me which problems are difficult.
चिंता मत करो, बेटा। चलो साथ में practice करते हैं। दिखाओ कौन से सवाल मुश्किल हैं।
👧 Priya:This one: ‘Add 1/4 and 2/4.’ I don’t know how to add fractions.
ये: ‘1/4 और 2/4 जोड़ो।’ मुझे fractions जोड़ना नहीं आता।
👩 Mummy:When the bottom number is the same, just add the top numbers. 1+2 = 3. So the answer is 3/4!
जब नीचे का नंबर एक ही हो, तो सिर्फ ऊपर वाले नंबर जोड़ो। 1+2 = 3। तो जवाब 3/4!
👧 Priya:Oh! That’s so easy! Why didn’t I understand before?
ओह! ये तो इतना आसान है! पहले क्यों समझ नहीं आया?
👩 Mummy:Sometimes you just need someone to explain it differently. You’re doing great, Priya!
कभी-कभी बस किसी को अलग तरीके से समझाना होता है। तुम बहुत अच्छा कर रही हो, प्रिया!
👧 Priya:Thank you, Mummy! I feel much better now. Let’s do more practice!
धन्यवाद, मम्मी! अब बहुत अच्छा लग रहा है। और practice करते हैं!
💬 Dialogue 3: The teacher gives exam instructions before the test begins
📍 The teacher gives exam instructions before the test begins.
👩🏫 Teacher:Good morning, class. Before we begin the exam, listen to the instructions carefully.
सुप्रभात, बच्चों। exam शुरू करने से पहले, निर्देश ध्यान से सुनो।
👦👧 Class:Yes, Ma’am.
जी, मैडम।
👩🏫 Teacher:Write your name, class, and roll number on the answer sheet first.
पहले answer sheet पर अपना नाम, कक्षा, और roll number लिखो।
👦👧 Class:Ma’am, should we use pen or pencil?
मैडम, पेन से लिखें या पेंसिल से?
👩🏫 Teacher:Blue pen for answers. Pencil only for diagrams. Read all questions before you start.
जवाब नीले पेन से। चित्र सिर्फ पेंसिल से। शुरू करने से पहले सब सवाल पढ़ लो।
👦👧 Class:How much time do we have?
हमारे पास कितना समय है?
👩🏫 Teacher:Two hours. And no talking or looking at your neighbour’s paper! Good luck, everyone!
दो घंटे। और कोई बातचीत या पड़ोसी का paper देखना नहीं! सबको शुभकामनाएँ!
💬 Dialogue 4: After the exam
📍 After the exam. Meera and Sneha compare how it went.
👧 Meera:How was the exam, Sneha? I thought it was quite easy!
exam कैसा रहा, स्नेहा? मुझे तो काफ़ी आसान लगा!
👧 Sneha:Really? I found question 5 very difficult. I couldn’t solve it.
सच में? मुझे सवाल 5 बहुत मुश्किल लगा। मुझसे solve नहीं हुआ।
👧 Meera:Which one? The one about the river?
कौन सा? नदी वाला?
👧 Sneha:Yes! ‘Name three rivers that flow into the Bay of Bengal.’ I could only remember two.
हाँ! ‘बंगाल की खाड़ी में गिरने वाली तीन नदियों के नाम बताओ।’ मुझे सिर्फ दो याद आईं।
👧 Meera:Ganga, Godavari, and Krishna! I remembered because of the mnemonic our teacher taught us.
गंगा, गोदावरी, और कृष्णा! मुझे याद रहा क्योंकि teacher ने trick सिखाई थी।
👧 Sneha:Oh no! I should have revised more. But at least the rest was okay.
अरे! मुझे और revise करना चाहिए था। लेकिन बाकी ठीक था।
👧 Meera:Don’t worry! One question won’t matter much. Let’s prepare better for the next one!
चिंता मत करो! एक सवाल से ज़्यादा फ़र्क नहीं पड़ता। अगले के लिए और अच्छे से तैयारी करते हैं!
💬 Dialogue 5: Results day
📍 Results day. Papa talks to Arjun about his report card.
👦 Arjun:Arjun, let me see your report card. How did you do?
अर्जुन, ज़रा अपना report card दिखाओ। कैसा रहा?
👨 Papa:Papa, I got 90 in Science and 85 in Hindi! But only 65 in English…
पापा, मुझे Science में 90 और Hindi में 85 मिले! लेकिन English में सिर्फ 65…
👦 Arjun:That’s a good start! But we need to work on English. What happened?
ये अच्छी शुरुआत है! लेकिन English पर काम करना होगा। क्या हुआ?
👨 Papa:I made spelling mistakes and my essay was too short.
मुझसे spelling mistakes हुईं और मेरा essay बहुत छोटा था।
👦 Arjun:Okay, we’ll practice spelling every day. And I’ll help you write longer essays.
ठीक है, हम हर दिन spelling practice करेंगे। और मैं तुम्हें लंबे essay लिखने में मदद करूँगा।
👨 Papa:Thank you, Papa. I promise I’ll do better next time!
धन्यवाद, पापा। मैं वादा करता हूँ अगली बार बेहतर करूँगा!
👦 Arjun:I’m proud of you for trying hard. Marks don’t define you — effort does!
मुझे तुम्हारी मेहनत पर गर्व है। marks तुम्हें define नहीं करते — मेहनत करती है!
📖 Key Vocabulary
Exam / Test
परीक्षा — Assessment of knowledge
Revise
दोहराना — Study again
Nervous / Scared
घबराया/डरा हुआ — Feeling worried
Practice
अभ्यास — Do again to improve
Result
परिणाम — Marks/outcome
Report card
रिपोर्ट कार्ड — Document showing marks
Question paper
प्रश्नपत्र — Sheet with exam questions
Answer sheet
उत्तर पुस्तिका — Where you write answers
Improvement
सुधार — Getting better
Effort
मेहनत/प्रयास — Hard work put in
🗣️ Key Phrases to Remember
- “Have you studied for the test?” — Ask about preparation क्या तुमने test की पढ़ाई की?
- “Let’s study together.” — Suggest group study चलो साथ में पढ़ते हैं।
- “I don’t understand this.” — Ask for help मुझे ये समझ नहीं आ रहा।
- “Good luck for the exam!” — Wish before a test exam के लिए शुभकामनाएँ!
- “How was the exam?” — Ask after a test exam कैसा रहा?
📐 Grammar Spotlight: Past Tense in Exam Conversations
Use past tense to talk about exams that are over
‘How was the exam?’ (past — it’s over). ‘I found it easy.’ ‘I couldn’t solve question 5.’ ‘I got 90 marks.’ Use past tense because the exam already happened.
✅ How was the exam? (was = past of is)
✅ I found it difficult. (found = past of find)
✅ I got 85 marks. (got = past of get)
✅ I couldn’t answer question 3. (couldn’t = past of can’t)
✅ I found it difficult. (found = past of find)
✅ I got 85 marks. (got = past of get)
✅ I couldn’t answer question 3. (couldn’t = past of can’t)
❌ How is the exam? ❌ (If exam is over, say ‘How was the exam?’)
🎭 Exam Time Role Play!
- Act out exam preparation: ‘Have you studied?’
- One person is nervous, other gives encouragement.
- Act out the teacher giving instructions before exam.
- After ‘exam’: compare answers. ‘How was it?’
- Results day: parent and child discuss report card.
- Practice encouraging words: ‘I’m proud of your effort!’
❓ Quiz — Test Yourself!
1. Before an exam, say:
2. ‘How was the exam?’ — use when:
3. Best study advice:
4. If you don’t understand something:
5. Report card shows 65 in English. Papa says:
6. ‘I ___ the exam easy.’ (past tense)
7. Before exam, teacher says:
8. ‘Marks don’t ___ you.’
❓ FAQ
How to talk about exam time in English?
Use phrases like: Have you studied for the test?, Let’s study together., I don’t understand this., Good luck for the exam!, How was the exam?. These cover all common exam/school situations.
How to encourage a nervous student?
Say: ‘Don’t worry!’ ‘You’ve studied hard.’ ‘Do your best!’ ‘I believe in you!’ ‘Marks aren’t everything — effort matters!’
How to discuss results in English?
‘I got ___ marks.’ ‘I did well in ___.’ ‘I need to improve in ___.’ ‘My total is ___.’ ‘I came first/second in class.’
How to ask for help with studies?
‘I don’t understand this.’ ‘Can you explain this to me?’ ‘Can we study together?’ ‘Which chapter should I focus on?’
How to talk to parents about report cards?
Be honest: ‘I did well in ___ but need to improve in ___.’ ‘I made some mistakes but I’ll work harder.’ ‘Can you help me with ___?’