Q&A - PSLE English

[jeestan]

Hi,


The answer is No sooner had the boy …than his mother…

I have an assessment book on this and the answer is like this.

My ds’s school also had a question on this type of question for the primary 5s. I looked at the paper and saw that the correct answer was "No sooner…than…"

I remember this as I was very confused at first by this.

[Learning Partners]

smurfette3:

rkumar:

[quote=\"smurfette3\"]
Hi herbie,

Your answer is correct. But I think 'this' needs to change to 'that'.

By the way, I am a bit confused over the answers here, I realized that
you asked about No Sooner, the answers given here is different from the one TAS gave when you asked.

I checked online and it seems the answer is No Sooner is used with than. Anyone wants to verify this? Anyone who had this question done in an exam and the teacher gave the confirmed answer?

Came across the question recently. The answer given in school was

No sooner after the boy took some money from the drawer, his mother walked in.

Hi rkumar,

Thanks for your input, but if I am not wrong, No Sooner already means 'after' so I think it cannot go together.

I am just confused about whether No Sooner should go with Than or When or don't have to.

Should it be:

No sooner had the boy taken some money from the drawer when his mother walked in

No sooner had the boy taken some money from the drawer than his mother walked in

No sooner had the boy taken some money from the drawer, his mother walked in. :?[/quote]Hi parents, we would like to help out here.

TAS is correct. 'No sooner' should be used with 'than'.

The word 'sooner' is a comparative - a word that is used to compare two items and ends with '-er'. We usually use comparatives together with 'than'.


Example:

Meiling is a faster runner than Yvonne.

My handwriting is neater than yours.


So the correct answer to the original question posted is:

No sooner had the boy taken some money from the drawer than his mother walked in.


But please note that English, like all languages, is constantly growing and evolving. Increasingly, more and more people are dropping the word 'than' in such sentences. Hence it is not unusual to see the third answer in books and even newspapers.

However, in school and especially during the PSLE, it is advisable to get your child to stick to the conventional answer.

The answer with 'when' is definitely wrong.


Learning Partners

[singapore45]

Hi all,


TAS has a thread on this talking about this grammar question: no sooner. I think it helps clear up the doubts.

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35&start=630

[krazy]

Yes you are right about the language constantly evolving because a lot of answers which were previously not accepted, are now and there are a lot of new words appearing in the dictionary.


I checked with several teachers and they said they would accept the answer without \"than\". But I guess, its important that the children check with the teachers of their schools as to which answers they would accept.

Some teachers I know, especially those who are very concerned with the rules of the language, do not accept the sentence without \"than\", just like they would mark the answer wrong because the answer was not written out in a complete sentence. For example, those \"meaning questions\" - Which word in the paragraph has the same meaning as .....\"
Children are expected to write : \"The word is .... .\"

Learning Partners:

But please note that English, like all languages, is constantly growing and evolving. Increasingly, more and more people are dropping the word 'than' in such sentences. Hence it is not unusual to see the third answer in books and even newspapers.

However, in school and especially during the PSLE, it is advisable to get the your child to stick to the conventional answer.

The answer with 'when' is definitely wrong.


Learning Partners

[Hellokitty2]

krazy:

Yes you are right about the language constantly evolving because a lot of answers which were previously not accepted, are now and there are a lot of new words appearing in the dictionary.


I checked with several teachers and they said they would accept the answer without \"than\". But I guess, its important that the children check with the teachers of their schools as to which answers they would accept.

Some teachers I know, especially those who are very concerned with the rules of the language, do not accept the sentence without \"than\", just like they would mark the answer wrong because the answer was not written out in a complete sentence. For example, those \"meaning questions\" - Which word in the paragraph has the same meaning as .....\"
Children are expected to write : \"The word is .... .\"

Learning Partners:

But please note that English, like all languages, is constantly growing and evolving. Increasingly, more and more people are dropping the word 'than' in such sentences. Hence it is not unusual to see the third answer in books and even newspapers.

However, in school and especially during the PSLE, it is advisable to get the your child to stick to the conventional answer.

The answer with 'when' is definitely wrong.


Learning Partners

But it will be so confusing, even if English is evolving there should be clear rules, if not how to teach our kids. I think for singapore schools, they still stick to the correct grammar structure right? (I hope so anyway, if not really very scary)

Anyway, who or what is Learning Partners? Is it a teacher or parent or centre? I never heard of Learning Partners so far but I am also not too knowledgeable in this area.

[rkumar]

Good update on this topic, must be one of those \"headache\" questions children come back from school with :stupid:

[Herbie]

Hi all, a big thank you for yr comment. Btw, this qn is taken fr rgps prelim paper and the vendor"s ans is "no sooner after the boy took some money fr the drawer, his mother walKed in" . Based on TAS n learning partner the vendor’s ans shld b incorrect. am i rite to say tat? Tx

[krazy]

Singapore is too small to cause significant change in e Lang. However, if
enough pp use it, we are talking abt USA, then u will see the change come.

Just like spelling of certain words. American spelling of \"color\" is widely accepted in schs now. But the thing is, there must be consistency. If the past, spelling \"colour\" with \"color\" is unacceptable but not anymore. However, the child must then use the American spelling throughout his essay. Otherwise, \"color\" becomes a spelling mistake.

What bat \"strawberries\"? My lecturer in uni said that there isn't the word \"strawberry\". This lecturer graduated fr Cambridge. But a check with the dictionary reveals that \"strawberry\" is a legitimate word.

Hellokitty2:

But it will be so confusing, even if English is evolving there should be clear rules, if not how to teach our kids. I think for singapore schools, they still stick to the correct grammar structure right? (I hope so anyway, if not really very scary)

Anyway, who or what is Learning Partners? Is it a teacher or parent or centre? I never heard of Learning Partners so far but I am also not too knowledgeable in this area.

[krazy]

the use of the comma is important. I wouldn't accept the sentence without the comma.

Herbie:

Hi all, a big thank you for yr comment. Btw, this qn is taken fr rgps prelim paper and the vendor\"s ans is \"no sooner after the boy took some money fr the drawer, his mother walKed in\" . Based on TAS n learning partner the vendor's ans shld b incorrect. am i rite to say tat? Tx

[Ler]

rkumar:

Hi Ler, my bad , the answer is indeed \"are\". Who is a relative pronoun in this sentence and it is relates to the people not the uncle. rather than get into what a relative pronoun is, lets try switching the words around.


1)My uncle is one of the people who ______ very compassionat . He never hesitates to help the less fortunate.

2)My uncle never hesitates to help the less fortunate. He is one of the people who are very compassionate.

Do you see now that it actually refers to the people than the uncle?

Hope this helps you. Sorry for the confusion

Thank you