Q&A - PSLE English

[Joy of Learning 111]

jetsetter:

Again, the teacher must be sleeping.

That's one interpretation. I can think of others.

[SOS mum]

Thank u very much, Joy n Jetsetter :lovesite:

[SOS mum]

Hi all, ps help the following:

Many thks and God Bless:)

1) I cycle to work every day. It is one way I exercise daily.

Son’s ans: Cycling to work is one way I exercise daily.

Ans sheet: Cycling to work every day is one way I exercise daily.

Must we include "every day" since "daily" also meant every day?

2) The king, after suffering a humiliating loss in the second battle, went into exile.

Son’s ans: The king went into exile by a humiliating loss in the second battle.

Ans sheet: The king, humiliated by a loss in the second battle, went into exile.

Is son’s ans acceptable?

[Joy of Learning 111]

SOS mum:

1) I cycle to work every day. It is one way I exercise daily.


Son's ans: Cycling to work is one way I exercise daily.

Ans sheet: Cycling to work every day is one way I exercise daily.

Must we include \"every day\" since \"daily\" also meant every day?

I would side with your son's answer for the reason you state.

SOS mum:

2) The king, after suffering a humiliating loss in the second battle, went into exile.

Son's ans: The king went into exile by a humiliating loss in the second battle.

Ans sheet: The king, humiliated by a loss in the second battle, went into exile.

Is son's ans acceptable?

No. It's a dangling modifier.

If your son wants to use the prepositional approach to transform the sentence, how about using a complex preposition? For example:

The king went into exile because of a humiliating loss in the second battle.

Alternatively, the participial approach works too. For example:

The king went into exile following a humiliating loss in the second battle.

[SOS mum]

Tks Joy…Appreciate greatly

[forestcadee]

Hi, all, would appreciate if anyone can give advices on the situational writing.

My dd told me that her school teacher had discouraged them to write \"I am writing to tell you....\" at the
start of the situational writing. She indicated that it is a grammatical error and could deduct marks if the teacher
is strict at marking.

Is there other ways to start?

Thanks.

:scratchhead:

[SOS mum]

Hi, ps help. Many Thanks and God Bless:)


The boy told his mother," The thief ran down the corridor and jumped into the moat, only to realise that a crocodile was waiting patiently in the water for prey."

Son’s ans: The boy told his mother that the thief had run down the corridor and jumped into the moat, only to realise that a crocodile had been waiting patiently in the water for prey.

Ans sheet: The boy told his mother that the thief had run down the corridor and had jumped into the moat, only to realise that a crocodile had been waiting patiently in the water for prey.

Son argued that he was taught in school that the second action "jumped" need not covert to "had" jumped. Is he right?

[Joy of Learning 111]

forestcadee:

Hi, all, would appreciate if anyone can give advices on the situational writing.

My dd told me that her school teacher had discouraged them to write \"I am writing to tell you....\" at the
start of the situational writing. She indicated that it is a grammatical error and could deduct marks if the teacher
is strict at marking.

Is there other ways to start? :scratchhead:

Is it really a grammatical error? Did the teacher explain why it was a grammatical error? The teacher sounds unsure with the comment about strict marking: in the PSLE, all the marking is strict.

The only real grammatical error with 'I am writing to tell you...' is with using the wrong preposition after it. Ask the teacher which preposition comes next.

Anyway, I presume we are talking about a formal communication such as a letter. How about:

I am writing to advise you...
I am writing with regard to...
I am writing to inform you ...

[Joy of Learning 111]

SOS mum:

The boy told his mother,\" The thief ran down the corridor and jumped into the moat, only to realise that a crocodile was waiting patiently in the water for prey.\"


Son's ans: The boy told his mother that the thief had run down the corridor and jumped into the moat, only to realise that a crocodile had been waiting patiently in the water for prey.

Ans sheet: The boy told his mother that the thief had run down the corridor and *had* jumped into the moat, only to realise that a crocodile had been waiting patiently in the water for prey.

Son argued that he was taught in school that the second action \"jumped\" need not covert to \"had\" jumped. Is he right?

The answer sheet is correct. For rewriting direct to indirect speech in compound/complex sentences, observe backshift on all the conjugated verbs.

You would not backshift the ‘simple past’ when it is, in fact, a past participle acting as an adjective. For example:

The boy told his mother, “The teacher fainted, exhausted from marking.”

The boy told his mother that the teacher had fainted, exhausted from marking.

A clue to look out for in this example is that there is no conjunction.

[SOS mum]

Thank u very much, Joy!

U hv been a great help :lovesite: