Q&A - PSLE English

[The Alternative Story]

[quote]Hi TAS,

1) Supposing that the nest is disturbed, the bird will leave her chicks to die.
As long as....
Ans (a): As long as the nest is disturbed, the bird will leave her chicks to die.
Ans (b): As long as the nest is undisturbed, the bird will not leave her chicks to die.

Which is the correct ans?[/quote]Hi Starlight,

The answer is the first one as the second one is complicated and hard
to understand. Usually when 2 negatives ('undisturbed' and 'will not leave') are used in a sentence, it makes the sentence difficult to understand,
hence it is not advisable to do so.
[quote]2) I have known that weird man. He has lived in this dilapidated house.
.... as long as...
What is the ans?[/quote]The answer should be just as what Muffin said:

That weird man has lived in this dilapidated house for
as long as I have known him.

OR

I have know that weird man for as long as he has lived in this
dilapidated house.

The 'as long as' usually means 'provided that/providing'.

Eg:

I will listen to him as long as he does not shout (condition).

However in the example that you gave, there is no condition.
Hence 'as long as' is used more to mean for 'as long a time'.
[quote]Many thanks again[/quote].

No problem!

TAS

[starlight1968sg]

Hi TAS,

Thanks again for replying.
I agree on the part that 2 negatives in a sentence is not encouraged. But I was surprised as this was the model ans but my dd wrote the other one. Thus I need to seek your advice.

English is such a \"beautiful\" language.

[The Alternative Story]

starlight1968sg:

Hi TAS,

Thanks again for replying.
I agree on the part that 2 negatives in a sentence is not encouraged. But I was surprised as this was the model ans but my dd wrote the other one. Thus I need to seek your advice.

English is such a \"beautiful\" language.

Hi Starlight,

You are welcome Yes the rules of English grammar are not clear
cut at times.

TAS

[hoskins8h]

Tang:

1) Supposing that the nest is disturbed, the bird will leave her chicks to die.
As long as....
Ans (a): As long as the nest is disturbed, the bird will leave her chicks to die.
Ans (b): As long as the nest is undisturbed, the bird will not leave her chicks to die.

Which is the correct ans?

I feel that (b) is the better answer and doesnt sound awkward to me even with the double negative.
It means that the bird will not leave her chicks to die unless the nest is disturbed.

(a) sounds strange and gives me the feeling that the bird may leave her chicks to die, whether the nest is disturbed or not. And if disturbed, will sure leave her chicks to die.

[starlight1968sg]

hoskins8h:

I feel that (b) is the better answer and doesnt sound awkward to me even with the double negative.

It means that the bird will not leave her chicks to die unless the nest is disturbed.

(a) sounds strange and gives me the feeling that the bird may leave her chicks to die, whether the nest is disturbed or not. And if disturbed, will sure leave her chicks to die.

The model ans is (b). But I think TAS has valid reasons too; two negatives complicate a sentence.

[starlight1968sg]

Hi TAS,

1) Tom became very depressed after his mother died last year.
The cause of .....
Ans1: The cause of his dead mother last year made Tom very depressed.
Ans2: The cause of his mother's death last year made Tom very depressed.

2) The suspect finally named his accomplice. The police were questioning him relentlessly.
..... under....
Ans: The suspect finally named his accomplice under police's relentless questioning.

Thanks.

I am unsure of the answers. :roll:

[Muffins]

starlight1968sg:

Hi TAS,

1) Tom became very depressed after his mother died last year.
The cause of .....
Ans1: The cause of his dead mother last year made Tom very depressed.
Ans2: The cause of his mother's death last year made Tom very depressed.

2) The suspect finally named his accomplice. The police were questioning him relentlessly.
..... under....
Ans: The suspect finally named his accomplice under police's relentless questioning.

Thanks.

I am unsure of the answers. :roll:

For Q1, your second answer is correct...

For Q2, your answer seems correct... :idea:

[The Alternative Story]

[quote]Hi TAS,

1) Tom became very depressed after his mother died last year.
The cause of .....
Ans1: The cause of his dead mother last year made Tom very depressed.
Ans2: The cause of his mother's death last year made Tom very depressed.[/quote]Hi Starlight,

For this question-The cause of X is Y, the sentence structure
means: X is the result of Y.

Eg:

- The cause of his breakdown (X) is his overly competitive nature (Y).

Here, it can be seen that his breakdown (X) is the result of his
nature (Y).

Therefore, in your example:

-Tom became very depressed after his mother died last year.
The cause of .....

The answer should be:

The cause of Tom's depression was the death of his mother.

(This shows that Tom's depression was a result of his mother's death)

If your answer is:
The cause of his mother's death last year made Tom very depressed.

You are saying that the cause of his mother's death (perhaps
an accident) was what made Tom depressed but in the question,
it is clear that the reason for Tom's depression is the death and not
the cause of the death.

If your answer is:
The cause of his dead mother last year made Tom very depressed.

It is grammatically wrong as it does not make sense to say that
Tom's dead mother is the result of his depression.
[quote]2) The suspect finally named his accomplice. The police were questioning him relentlessly.
..... under....
Ans: The suspect finally named his accomplice under police's relentless questioning.[/quote]The answer is correct except that you need to add the article 'the'
before 'police' so it should be:

The suspect finally named his accomplice under the police's
relentless questioning.
[quote]Thanks.

I am unsure of the answers. :roll:[/quote]No prob!

TAS

[starlight1968sg]

Hi TAS,

Thanks again.

I realised my mistake for qn 1.

For qn 2,
2) The suspect finally named his accomplice. The police were questioning him relentlessly.
… under…

Can the ans be:
The suspect finally named his accomplice under relentless questioning by the police.

I find that for S&T, there can be more than one answer which is confusing.

[mrswongtuition]

starlight1968sg:

I find that for S&T, there can be more than one answer which is confusing.

You are right. Some teachers are rather 'rigid' and only accept the answer that they want.

However, if the child is taught the basics of S&T, many of them can score very well for S&T.

For my students, I print the 'rules' for S&T for them and we go through them. Especially for reported speech/question - the kids always make mistakes at the transformation of tenses.

I will be conducting a course during the September holidays for PSLE students, covering S&T, Compre & Compre Cloze (common killers). Some parents have requested for me to sell them the materials (due to clashes in schedule) and they go through them with their kids. I might post them up for sale later on. Can keep a lookout for it.

Mrs Wong
http://mwtuition.blogspot.com