Q&A - PSLE English

[youngtay]

Hi, pls help, what is the answer for the following:


1) Which one of you ________not going for the concert? Please inform me now.

a) is
b) are
c) was
d) were


2. After queuing for almost half an hour, I _____that when it was my turn, there would still be tickets left.

a) hope
b) hopes
c) hoped
d) hoping

3.The boys would rather their time playing hockey than.

a) spend…read
b) spending…read
c) spend…reading
d) spending…reading

4.My uncle is one of the people who …very compassionate. He never hesitates to help the less fortunate.

a) is
b) are
c) was
d) were

TIA

[Sun_2010]

Ok, My take

1. Which one of you is not going for the concert? Please inform me now.

2. After queuing for almost half an hour, I hoped that when it was my turn, there would still be tickets left.

3.The boys would rather spend their time playing hockey than reading

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

Eng Experts pls comment.

[youngtay]

Sun_2010, Thanks for your answer , two more question, pls help.


1) I don’t like playing games _______rules are complicated.

a) who
b) whom
c) which
d) whose

2) His interest in golf______after a few months and now he hardly goes to the club.
a) waned
b) expired
c) reduced
d) subsided

TIA

[youngtay]

Hi, pls help.


1. The iron was too hot and it resulted in Zoe’s favourite dress being ____.

a) singed
b) flamed
c) seared
d) charred

what is the answer? TIA

[atutor2001]

youngtay:

2. After queuing for almost half an hour, I _____that when it was my turn, there would still be tickets left.

a) hope
b) hopes
c) hoped
d) hoping

In my opinion, the correct answer should be \"was hoping\" which was not in the options. The best choice in this case is \"hoped\".

However, we use simple past tense for an instantaneous activity or event e.g. pick, take.... For activities that are continuous in nature such as \"hope\" I would think \"was hoping\" is more appropriate.

[youngtay]

Hi atutor 2001


Thanks for your explanation.

Best wishes.

[youngtay]

Hi atutor 2001


Thanks for your explanation.

Best wishes.

[jasmineong]

youngtay:

Sun_2010, Thanks for your answer , two more question, pls help.


1) I don't like playing games _______rules are complicated.

a) who
b) whom
c) which
d) whose

2) His interest in golf______after a few months and now he hardly goes to the club.
a) waned
b) expired
c) reduced
d) subsided

TIA

Hi all,

The explanation for question 1, and also anther question about 'my uncle is one those who are..\" has been addressed here by TAS before.
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7586&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60

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youngtay:

Sun_2010, Thanks for your answer , two more question, pls help.


1) I don't like playing games _______rules are complicated.

a) who
b) whom
c) which
d) whose

2) His interest in golf______after a few months and now he hardly goes to the club.
a) waned
b) expired
c) reduced
d) subsided

TIA

Hi youngtay,



1. The answer is (d)whose.


We can rephrase the sentence to read:

I don't like playing those games because the games' rules are complicated.

In this case, the relative pronoun is used to indicate possession, hence we should use the word 'whose'.


Just bear in mind that:

Relative pronoun 'who' is used to refer to a human subject (the person that does the action).

Eg. John is the student who always comes in late.


'Which' may refer to both inanimate items or animals. It may also be used as a subject or object.

Eg. The black cat which you saw belongs to Mrs Chong. [object]

The telephone which rang non-stop belongs to Molly. [subject]


'Whom' is used to refer to a human object (the person the action is done to).

Eg. Ali whom Mary detests is going to America next month.


'Whose' is used to indicate possession (so it can be used for both animate and inanimate subjects.)

Eg. Peter whose father is a tailor has many suits.
[Peter's father]

The wolf whose pups were missing was in a savage mood. [The wolf's pups]

Ditto Question (1): We are talking about [the games' rules].



(2) Answer is (a) - waned.

Meanings of words:

(a) waned - became weaker

(b) expired - ended

(c) reduced - decreased

(d) subsided - became less intense

Out of the four options, both (a) and (d) are possible answers but (a) is the better answer because there was no indication about the intensity of the person's interest in golf. (d) implies that initially, the person's interest must have been pretty strong which may or may not be the case.

Moreover, 'interest' is more commonly paired with 'wane' than with 'subside'.

It is one of those things about language (and hence the importance of reading). Some words are more commonly paired together and so we accept that as the correct usage:

For example, we use the phrase 'minute detail' but not 'small detail'.

Adam likes to describe his baby in such minute detail that all his colleagues avoid him the moment he whips out his handphone.

During examinations in schools, the better answer tends to be the one that is more commonly used.



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[Learning Partners]

[quote]1. The iron was too hot and it resulted in Zoe's favourite dress being ____.


a) singed
b) flamed
c) seared
d) charred [/quote]
The answer should be (a) singed.

All 4 options refer to items being burnt but there are slight differences to their meanings.

(a) singed - slightly burnt.
(b) flamed - burnt with flames licking (think 'flambe')
(c) seared - burnt suddenly
(d) charred - burnt till it turned black (think 'char siew')

Hence in the question's context, the best answer is (a). Think of the drama series that we watch, each time the character would realise that he/she has burnt a piece of clothing rather soon after it happens and remove the iron immediately, leaving said clothing only slightly burnt. :lol:



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