Q&A - PSLE English

[TheWriter]

\"In\" for mathematics, \"at\" for singing.

I think of it as \"good in a subject/good at a skill\"

Edit: I just noted that Mathematics could refer to the class, or very generally as a skill. A quick check verifies that as a subject/class/course, 'in\" is the preferred preposition, but there are sites that advocates \"at\" for both contexts. The internet can be a confusing place, so I am going to hold this for a while, and see if I can dig anything up from my library at work. Tentatively, based on the context of the sentence, I would revise and go with at, i.e. It is a known fact that...tend to be good at Mathematics (good at solving mathematical problems).

Sometimes I wonder why we give such grammar questions.

TheWriter

[pm123]

Need help…


1, Mary as well as her sisters is/are going to zoo tomorrow.
2, Mary, as well as her sisters, is/are going to zoo tomorrow.

Under what circumstances do we omit comma before/after the phase "as well as" ?

Pls adv? TIA.

[S-H]

Can someone pls help the following, thank you!


The sales assistant is trying to _______ the angry cstomer and not antagonise him further.
(1) allay
(2) pacify
(3) douse
(4) defuse

I thought the answer is (2) but the answer is (1) ??? Can someone advise, thanks!

[TheWriter]

pm123:

Need help...


1, Mary as well as her sisters is/are going to zoo tomorrow.
2, Mary, as well as her sisters, is/are going to zoo tomorrow.

Under what circumstances do we omit comma before/after the phase \"as well as\" ?

Pls adv? TIA.

2. Mary, as well as her sisters, is going to the zoo tomorrow.

The additional expression of \"as well as\" to include the sisters interrupts the subject of the sentence (\"Mary\") and should have commas between them.

If the expression does not interrupt (usually this means it comes closer to the end), then there will not be a need for commas, e.g.

Mary and her sisters are going to the zoo as well as Universal Studios Singapore tomorrow.

[TheWriter]

S-H:

Can someone pls help the following, thank you!


The sales assistant is trying to _______ the angry cstomer and not antagonise him further.
(1) allay
(2) pacify
(3) douse
(4) defuse

I thought the answer is (2) but the answer is (1) ??? Can someone advise, thanks!

I agree with you on the answer (2). I have seen sentences like \"allay the customer's anger\" where the word \"allay\" is meant for the emotion, but I have not seen a sentence where you can \"allay\" a person, albeit an angry one.

TheWriter

[S-H]

TheWriter:

S-H:

Can someone pls help the following, thank you!


The sales assistant is trying to _______ the angry cstomer and not antagonise him further.
(1) allay
(2) pacify
(3) douse
(4) defuse

I thought the answer is (2) but the answer is (1) ??? Can someone advise, thanks!

I agree with you on the answer (2). I have seen sentences like \"allay the customer's anger\" where the word \"allay\" is meant for the emotion, but I have not seen a sentence where you can \"allay\" a person, albeit an angry one.

TheWriter

:thankyou: TheWriter

[Teacher Aaron]

TheWriter:

Teacher Aaron:

[quote=\"TheWriter\"]Came is correct. You cannot have \"heard\" (past tense) and \"come\" (present tense) within the same sentence.


TheWriter

I take issue with the assertion that you cannot have different tense-aspects in a given sentence. The choice of tense-aspect for verbs is strictly dependent on meaning and not any other rule.

If your assertion is correct, the following sentence would be wrong:

\"I heard that the police requested witnesses come forward to assist their investigation.\"

It would have been far better to explain that since the hearing of leaves rustling was explicitly stated to be in the past through the use of the simple past form \"heard\", and that meeting the elusive red monkeys occurred not long after, hence, the meeting was clearly in the past as well, so the use of the simple past \"came\" is the best choice, especially when the sentence uses the conjunction \"and\" to signal that the forms of both verbs \"hear\" and \"come\" should be the same (which is the simple past form in this case).

I don't agree that your hypothetical sentence is correct, but you're free to take issues with my explanation.

TheWriter[/quote]After reading your one-liner response, I can only conclude that your English competency is suspect.

I do not profess to be an expert, but the least I would have done is to explain my position and do some research if someone challenges my point of view, as I had done so in my earlier response. (Wait a minute, this sentence I just typed has three tense-aspects, and none of them have been used wrongly. Are you able explain why I can mix present, perfect and future in the past in the same sentence?)

Anyway, to respond to your one-liner, firstly, I think you need to buy a good dictionary. You evidently do not know what is the meaning of the word \"hypothetical\". I literally laughed out loud when I read the words \"hypothetical sentence\".

Here are definitions copied and pasted from Longman, Cambridge and Oxford online dictionaries:

Longman Dictionary Online

hy‧po‧thet‧i‧cal
based on a situation that is not real, but that might happen
hypothetical situation/example/question

Brennan brought up a hypothetical case to make his point.
The question is\tpurely hypothetical.

Source: http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/hypothetical

Cambridge Dictionary Online

hypothetical
imagined or suggested but not necessarily real or true:
a hypothetical example/situation

This is all very hypothetical but supposing Jackie got the job, how would that affect you?

Source: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/hypothetical

Oxford Dictionaries Online

hypothetical
Supposed but not necessarily real or true:

'the hypothetical tenth planet'

Source: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/hypothetical

Now that you have read all the definitions, could you please kindly explain why is it that the sentence I came up with a \"hypothetical\" sentence? How is my sentence unreal or imaginary? The last I checked, the sentence was still in existence on the forum and is definitely very, very real.

Next, since you disagree with the sentence I've formed, it means that you do not know what is the subjunctive mood in the field of grammar. Talking about the subjunctive, I had a question last night from a parent whose son is in primary six about why the answer for the following question is the first option:

Q. Dave said that he saw the victims _________ across the river last month.

a) swim
b) swam
c) swum
d) swims

The reason is because of the subjunctive mood, just as with the sentence you disagreed with. You might want to educate yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive_mood#English

Subjunctive mood aside, if you claim that you cannot have past and present tense in the same sentence, here are more examples to get your knickers in greater twist:

Singapore is an independent country that was a former British colony.

John was an outstanding soldier whose son is following in his footsteps.

The reason I'm taking the time to post is because I strongly believe that those who peddle themselves as English experts better be worth their salt. Otherwise, they will impart wrong knowledge to students and contribute to the overall degradation of English standards.

[Teacher Aaron]

jwxh:

Please help me.


It is known fact that logical thinkers tend to be good ______Mathematics.
1. In
2.on
3. At
4. With

What about good at singing or good in singing?

Thank you in advance

I'll clear the confusion once and for all.

When confusion over the use \"in\" or \"at\" arises, a key distinguishing feature is that the preposition \"in\" is generally for the non-specific, while the use of the preposition \"at\" is for the specific. Some examples will clear up the confusion.

I study at Raffles Institution which is located in Bishan.

In the above example, Raffles Institution is a very specific example, so we should use the preposition \"at\". We use the preposition \"in\" for the location of Raffles Institution as Bishan is a big area and the sentence does not provide the specific location. If we have information of the specific location, we will need to change the preposition, as shown below:

I study at Raffles Institution which is located at the junction of Bishan Street 21 and Bishan Road.

The same logic can be applied to time:

I am meeting a client at two o'clock. (specific time)

I will be going overseas in a week's time. (non-specific time)

Applying this logic to the above question, it would be better to use the preposition \"in\" for Mathematics because it is a broad field with many specific and distinct sub-disciplines. Reference to a specific sub-discipline under the broad umbrella of mathematics should take the preposition \"at\". The following sentence should help to clear up lingering doubts:

I am very interested in Mathematics, but I'm simply no good at algebra.

With regards to singing, again, applying the logic outlined above, since it is a very specific skill, the preposition \"at\" is more appropriate. Here's another example to illustrate the difference between \"in\" and \"at\":

In the modern music industry, there are few who are truly good at singing.

[TheWriter]

Teacher Aaron:

jwxh:

Please help me.


It is known fact that logical thinkers tend to be good ______Mathematics.
1. In
2.on
3. At
4. With

What about good at singing or good in singing?

Thank you in advance

I'll clear the confusion once and for all.

When confusion over the use \"in\" or \"at\" arises, a key distinguishing feature is that the preposition \"in\" is generally for the non-specific, while the use of the preposition \"at\" is for the specific. Some examples will clear up the confusion.

I study at Raffles Institution which is located in Bishan.

In the above example, Raffles Institution is a very specific example, so we should use the preposition \"at\". We use the preposition \"in\" for the location of Raffles Institution as Bishan is a big area and the sentence does not provide the specific location. If we have information of the specific location, we will need to change the preposition, as shown below:

I study at Raffles Institution which is located at the junction of Bishan Street 21 and Bishan Road.

The same logic can be applied to time:

I am meeting a client at two o'clock. (specific time)

I will be going overseas in a week's time. (non-specific time)

Applying this logic to the above question, it would be better to use the preposition \"in\" for Mathematics because it is a broad field with many specific and distinct sub-disciplines. Reference to a specific sub-discipline under the broad umbrella of mathematics should take the preposition \"at\". The following sentence should help to clear up lingering doubts:

I am very interested in Mathematics, but I'm simply no good at algebra.

With regards to singing, again, applying the logic outlined above, since it is a very specific skill, the preposition \"at\" is more appropriate. Here's another example to illustrate the difference between \"in\" and \"at\":

In the modern music industry, there are few who are truly good at singing.

1. Yes, you are very clever and competent in English, if that is what your long post wants people to conclude.

2. No, my competency in the language is not suspect because I made an error. I have made mistakes before and I remember the last time people pointed it out in a civil way, I responded in kind.

3. No, I am not required to explain anything simply because you demanded one.

TheWriter

[TheWriter]

TheWriter:

\"In\" for mathematics, \"at\" for singing.

I think of it as \"good in a subject/good at a skill\"

Edit: I just noted that Mathematics could refer to the class, or very generally as a skill. A quick check verifies that as a subject/class/course, 'in\" is the preferred preposition, but there are sites that advocates \"at\" for both contexts. The internet can be a confusing place, so I am going to hold this for a while, and see if I can dig anything up from my library at work. Tentatively, based on the context of the sentence, I would revise and go with at, i.e. It is a known fact that...tend to be good at Mathematics (good at solving mathematical problems).

Sometimes I wonder why we give such grammar questions.

TheWriter

I've just conferred with the good folks I work with, and the general consensus is to go with 'at', since there is nothing in the sentence to suggest mathematical coursework.

TheWriter