Q&A - PSLE English
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You’re welcome!
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slmkhoo:
\"No qualms\" is usually followed by \"about\". The first sounds OK to me too, but it's probably safer with \"about\".Jamesbond:
Both Sally and Jane have no qualms turning up early for work.
Neither...............nor....................
Neither Sally nor Jane has any qualms turning up early for work.
Neither Sally nor Jane has any qualms about turning up early for work.
Which of the above is correct?
While both sentences are grammatical, the preferred answer will be the first sentence since the preposition \"about\" was absent from the original statement in the first place.
\"About\" is superfluous (meaning unnecessary) in this case, just as the preposition \"with\" is superfluous in the following example:
John is alright with traveling alone.
John is alright traveling alone.
Hence, both sentences describing Sally and Jane's indifference for turning up early are grammatical, but the first answer is better suited for this particular question only because the original question did not contain the preposition \"about\".
Hope this helps!
Christopher Chye
Director, MOOT Singapore
Web: http://www.moot.sg
Tel: +65 9632 4747 -
slmkhoo:
The 3rd one should be \"pups\" (although \"kits\" is more common).45has:
could
might
cubs
me....he
might
The 4th one should be \"I (am)...he (is)\".
Hello there,
I think it was very perceptive of slmkhoo to have pointed out that Question 4 was erroneous.
\"Taller than me\" is a pervasive mistake among many users of the language and the person who set the question should be informed of his or her error, especially if he or she is an educator.
The expression \"taller than I am\" follows from -
\"I am tall. He is taller than I am.\"
\"Taller than me is wrong because it would have followed from -
\"Me is tall. He is taller than me.\"
I would point out that Question 5 is also quite poorly set.
5.They ______win, provided that their star player performed well.
a) would
b)might
c)may
d)shall
Any phrase that follows the word \"provided\" is a conditional clause. The event that the clause describes should not have taken place yet and should thus be constructed in present tense.
For example, you would say -
\"John could grow taller, provided that he eats well.\"
You would not say -
\"John could grow taller, provided that he ate well.\"
Both growing taller and eating well are future events and should thus necessitate the present tense.
So the error in Question 5 lies in the word \"performed\", where it should have been \"performs\".
The best answer I would suggest is \"would\" -
\"They would win, provided that the star player performs well.\"
I suppose the question setter could have been going for -
\"They might have won if the star player had performed well.\"
Using a provisional conjunction such as \"if\" allows the sentence to be constructed in past or past-perfect tenses.
Hope this helps!
Christopher Chye
Director of MOOT Singapore
Web: http://www.moot.sg
Tel: +65 9632 4747 -
Timothy asked Lynn, " Why did you bring your dog here?"
Given answer
Timothy asked Lynn why she had taken her dog there.
My answer
Timothy asked Lynn why she had brought her dog there.
I feel mine is correct…pl help. -
"Can you tell me where the nearest post office is?" The old man asked Yuling.
Given answer
The old man asked Yuling where the nearest post office was.
My answer
The old man asked Yuling if she could tell him where the nearest post office was.
My answer sounds wrong to me too…can somebody give me explanation. -
Hi, I have a question about s&t.
Q: John cheated in the examination. It was very silly of him.
__________________ to _______________.
A(1): it was very silly of John to have cheated in the examination.
A(2): it was very silly of John to cheat in the examination.
May I know which answer is correct and why?
Thanks in advance! -
Jamesbond:
Timothy asked Lynn, \" Why did you bring your dog here?\"
Given answer
Timothy asked Lynn why she had taken her dog there.
My answer
Timothy asked Lynn why she had brought her dog there.
I feel mine is correct...pl help.
Hello there,
I'm afraid the given answer is correct and the determining factor lies in the words \"here\" and \"there\".
We use \"bring\" when we wish for someone to transport an object to where we are. Thus, we could ask someone to \"bring an object here\".
We use \"take\" when we wish for someone to transport an object from a starting point to somewhere away from us. Thus, we could ask someone to \"take an object there\".
In this case, you have correctly identified that \"here\" had to be changed to \"there\" when in reported speech. Since the dog had to be transported \"there\", the suitable verb to choose is \"had taken\", in the past perfect form of course.
Hope this helps!
Warmest regards,
Christopher Chye
Director, MOOT Singapore
Tel: (65) 9632 4747
Web: http://www.moot.sg -
Jamesbond:
\"Can you tell me where the nearest post office is?\" The old man asked Yuling.
Given answer
The old man asked Yuling where the nearest post office was.
My answer
The old man asked Yuling if she could tell him where the nearest post office was.
My answer sounds wrong to me too....can somebody give me explanation.
Hello there,
While both answers are grammatical, your answer is the better one in this case.
If the question had read \"\"Where is the nearest post office?\" The old man asked Yuling.\", then the given answer would have been the better one.
In this case, the question the old man asked warranted a binary reply - either \"yes\" or \"no\". The little girl's response should reflect either her ability or willingness to address the old man's question by first saying \"yes\" or \"no\". Your answer correctly captures this quality by the use of \"if she could tell him\".
Of course in colloquial use, we know that the old man really intended to ask for directions but as a language question, we should be strict with the linguistic rules and not accept the given answer as the right one.
Hope this helps!
Christopher Chye
Director, MOOT Singapore
Tel: (65) 9632 4747
Web: http://www.moot.sg -
AtoZ:
Hi, I have a question about s&t.
Q: John cheated in the examination. It was very silly of him.
__________________ to _______________.
A(1): it was very silly of John to have cheated in the examination.
A(2): it was very silly of John to cheat in the examination.
May I know which answer is correct and why?
Thanks in advance!
Hello there,
I'm afraid I have a different view from 45has and would like to suggest A(2) as the better answer.
To explain this, I'll use a commonplace expression -
\"It was nice to meet you at the restaurant.\"
If we were to revert this expression into its active constituents, they will likely be -
\"I met you at the restaurant. It was nice.\"
This example is structurally almost identical to the question and I hope this helps you see why A(2) is the acceptable answer.
\"John cheated (past tense) in the examination. It was very silly of him.\"
\"I met (past tense) you at the restaurant. It was nice.\"
\"It was very silly of John to cheat (present tense) in the examination.\"
\"It was nice to meet (present tense) you at the restaurant.\"
A(1) would be the better answer if the question had read \"John has cheated in the examination. It was very silly of him.\"
Hope this helps!
Christopher Chye
Director, MOOT Singapore
Tel: (65) 9632 4747
Web: http://www.moot.sg -
can someone please help me this synthesis ques. TIA!
The high tide washes the debris onto the shore.
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