Q&A - PSLE English

[atutor2001]

KRR:

Well, the given answer is (3) received. I wonder why?
Does the word in the year got something to say?

Thank u vey much tianzhu

KRR

Hi KRR

\"in the year\" can mean this year or past year.

\"has been receiving\" is not acceptable because of the work \"a souvenir\". \"has been receiving\" is used to describe a continuous process. With only \"a\" i.e. 1 souvenir for each pupil, the process cannot be continuous.

Imo \"has been\" will be OK if the \"a souvenir\" is changed to \"souvenirs\" in which case the process can become continuous as there will be more than 1 souvenir to receive.

Alternatively, if \"the year\" is changed to \"the years\", then the process of receiving souvenirs over many years will become continuous and \"has been\" should be ok.

Rightfully, the use of simple past tense \"received\" would require a past time in the sentence. e.g. Each pupil received a souvenir from the teacher for her hard work last year. However, if the sentence is extracted from a passage with earlier information, I think using simple past tense is ok
e.g. \"Last year the teacher rewarded pupils who worked hard. Each pupil received souvenir from the teacher for her hard work in the year.\"

For standalone sentence, the proper tense to use should be the present perfect \"has received\".

Hope my thoughts are right.

Regards

[anneshirleygilbert]

Hello everyone,


I’m new on this forum. Discovered it when I was scouting for some science info for my daughter… only now discovered your forum on English, too.

You are a remarkable lot, the way you so meticulously dissect a sentence to get the correct answer, or perhaps, the answer acceptable to MOE. Keep up discussion. I find it most interesting and captivating.

Sincerely.

[KRR]

tianzhu:

KRR:

Well, the given answer is (3) received. I wonder why?
Does the word in the year got something to say?

Hi KRR

Good Morning.

I am not too sure what does in the year mean in this question.
Does it signal a completed event or an ongoing one?

Sometimes, it depends on the context of the question; take for example, this signal word, this morning, in these two examples.

Have you seen Alice this morning? (It’s still morning)(Present Perfect)

Did you see Alice this morning? (It’s now afternoon) (Past Tense)

I’ve posted your question to seek TAS’s help.

Let’s wait for her reply.

Best wishes

Thank u so much Tianzhu. I shall wait for TAS reply as well.

KRR

[KRR]

atutor2001:

KRR:

Well, the given answer is (3) received. I wonder why?
Does the word in the year got something to say?

Thank u vey much tianzhu

KRR

Hi KRR

\"in the year\" can mean this year or past year.

\"has been receiving\" is not acceptable because of the work \"a souvenir\". \"has been receiving\" is used to describe a continuous process. With only \"a\" i.e. 1 souvenir for each pupil, the process cannot be continuous.

Imo \"has been\" will be OK if the \"a souvenir\" is changed to \"souvenirs\" in which case the process can become continuous as there will be more than 1 souvenir to receive.

Alternatively, if \"the year\" is changed to \"the years\", then the process of receiving souvenirs over many years will become continuous and \"has been\" should be ok.

Rightfully, the use of simple past tense \"received\" would require a past time in the sentence. e.g. Each pupil received a souvenir from the teacher for her hard work last year. However, if the sentence is extracted from a passage with earlier information, I think using simple past tense is ok
e.g. \"Last year the teacher rewarded pupils who worked hard. Each pupil received souvenir from the teacher for her hard work in the year.\"

For standalone sentence, the proper tense to use should be the present perfect \"has received\".

Hope my thoughts are right.

Regards

Thank u very much atutor2001 for the explanation.

KRR

[iFruit]

atutor2001:

iFruit:

[quote=\"KRR\"]Hi,


Can somebody help me with this question.

Each pupil _________ a souvenir from the teacher for her hard work in the year.

\t(1)has been receiving\t(2)is receiving
\t(3)received\t(4)was receiving\t\t( )

Thanks

KRR

I'd go for (3).

Hi iFruit

I agree with your answer (3) (because the other answers are not acceptable). Just wondering :

(a) if \"the year\" is changed to \"the years\", would (1) become the answer?

(b) if \"a souvenir\" is changed to \"souvenirs\", would (1) become the answer?

(c) if \"receives\" is one of options, would it be acceptable? (there is no time in the sentence).

(d) For a standalone sentence, is \"has received\" the right grammatical form?

Sorry very long-winded. Thanks in advance.[/quote]Hi atutor2001,

You are confusing me now

1) For (a) & (b), I'm not too sure. They sound very awkward.
2) For (c), I think \"recieves\" is perfectly acceptable.
3) For (d), I think \"has received\" is a correct option, if \"a souvenir\" is changed to \"souvenirs\".


Further, \"hardwork in the year\" is just an adjective clause (qualifying the hardwork), and hasn't got much to do with tense of the sentence. JMHO

Regards.

[atutor2001]

iFruit:

Hi atutor2001,

You are confusing me now

1) For (a) & (b), I'm not too sure. They sound very awkward.
2) For (c), I think \"recieves\" is perfectly acceptable.
3) For (d), I think \"has received\" is a correct option, if \"a souvenir\" is changed to \"souvenirs\".


Further, \"hardwork in the year\" is just an adjective clause (qualifying the hardwork), and hasn't got much to do with tense of the sentence. JMHO

Regards.

Hi iFruit

Thank you for sharing. Can help to elaborate on 3) as to why has to change to \"souvenirs\". Many thanks.

Regards.

[iFruit]

atutor2001:

iFruit:

Hi atutor2001,

You are confusing me now

1) For (a) & (b), I'm not too sure. They sound very awkward.
2) For (c), I think \"recieves\" is perfectly acceptable.
3) For (d), I think \"has received\" is a correct option, if \"a souvenir\" is changed to \"souvenirs\".


Further, \"hardwork in the year\" is just an adjective clause (qualifying the hardwork), and hasn't got much to do with tense of the sentence. JMHO

Regards.

Hi iFruit

Thank you for sharing. Can help to elaborate on 3) as to why has to change to \"souvenirs\". Many thanks.

Regards.

Hi atutor2001,

It is from here, http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentperfect.html (..your link..)

\"We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which have occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible.\"

So a sentence like the following should be correct.

\"Each pupil has received several souvenirs from the teacher for her hard work in the year.\"

Regards.

[atutor2001]

Hi iFruit"


Thank you for the link and explanation. I have learnt a new use of Present Perfect.

Regards

[Mum1113]

Hi experts out there :),

kindly help Transformation qns :

1. I am not allowed to invite Jim to my place. My mother dislikes him.
Ans : The reason _______________________________.

2. Ravi had been late for work. His supervisor scolded him.
Ans : If _____________________________________.

3. We are not renovating this place. We do not intend to live here permanently.
Ans : We have _____________________ so _______________.

Many thanks.

[iFruit]

Mum1113:

Hi experts out there :),

kindly help Transformation qns :

1. I am not allowed to invite Jim to my place. My mother dislikes him.
Ans : The reason _______________________________.

2. Ravi had been late for work. His supervisor scolded him.
Ans : If _____________________________________.

3. We are not renovating this place. We do not intend to live here permanently.
Ans : We have _____________________ so _______________.

Many thanks.

1. The reason I am not allowed to invite Jim to my place is that my mother dislikes him.

2. If Ravi hadn't been late for work, his supervisor wouldn't have scolded him.

3. We have no plans to live here permanently so we are not renovating the place.

HTH.