Q&A - PSLE English

[guchengyouzi]

Fried chicken:

guchengyouzi:

What is the plural of passer-by?

Where should the s be?

Passers-by

I see
Thanks

[sharonkhoo]

guchengyouzi:

The little girl bears a great resemblance to her mother, they really look alike.

should the comma be there?
may be a full stop instead?

Either a semi-colon or a full stop, I think.

[TheWriter]

I’d opt for a semi-colon.

[Fried chicken]

guchengyouzi:

The little girl bears a great resemblance to her mother, they really look alike.

should the comma be there?
may be a full stop instead?

Having a comma there makes it a comma splice, so it should be either a semicolon or a full stop.

[guchengyouzi]

Came across the following sentence

They landed up in jail after being caught for shoplifting.
'landed up in jail' sounds weird.
should it be just 'landed in jail'?

[isetan]

Hi Parents,


Need help on this question…

After he had completed the 2.4km race, the athlete _____ down on the grass in exhaustion.

1) lay
2) lied
3) laid
4) lain

[TheWriter]

1) lay.


It’s the past tense of "lie" (as in "I lie down on the grass")

[isetan]

TheWriter:

1) lay.


It's the past tense of \"lie\" (as in \"I lie down on the grass\")

Thanks. I check the answer and is also (1). Can explain why not (3)?

[TheWriter]

guchengyouzi:

Came across the following sentence

They landed up in jail after being caught for shoplifting.
'landed up in jail' sounds weird.
should it be just 'landed in jail'?

Technically it's not wrong, but to \"land up\" somewhere usually connotes a sense of serendipity, or that the destination in question was not planned for.

An example:

I took a wrong bus and landed up in Boon Lay, which was far from my original destination.

Arguably, though, no one shoplifts and actively plans to be in jail, so one could say \"landed up in jail\".

[TheWriter]

isetan:

TheWriter:

1) lay.


It's the past tense of \"lie\" (as in \"I lie down on the grass\")

Thanks. I check the answer and is also (1). Can explain why not (3)?

laid is the past tense of 'lay' (which is used for objects).

Thus, in present tense:

I lie on the grass.

I lay a picnic mat on the grass.

In past tense:

I lay on the grass.

I laid the picnic mat on the grass.

TheWriter