Q&A - PSLE English

[ridcully]

elkniwt:

1. Michael will not play basketball with us. He has to fetch his sister from school.

Unless _______________________________________________

My dd's answer is
Unless Michael has to fetch his sister, he will play basketball with us.

The answer given in the answer key is
Unless Michael does not have to fetch his sister from school, he will play basketball with us.

Unless my failure to drink a strong coffee this morning is affecting my judgement, your daughter is correct; the given answer key is wrong.
[quote]2. Drivers will not be able to see well at night. There are no lights along the roads.
Unless _________________________________________________

My dd's answer is
Unless there are no lights along the road, drivers will be able to see well at night.

Answer key :
Unless there are lights along the road, drivers will not be able to see well at night.

For Q2, the answer key sounds more logical but how to explain it to a child. She has problems with unless. [/quote]See my notes below. The main idea is that drivers will not be able to see well at night.

[quote]Q3) The new medicine will not be on sale if it is not properly tested.
Unless _____________________________________________

Ans1. Unless the new medicine is not properly tested, it will be on sale.
Ans2. Unless the new medicine is properly tested, it will not be on sale.


Q4) You can finish all the food if you are hungry.
_______________unless _______________________

Ans1. You can finish all the food unless you are not hungry.
Ans2. You cannot finish all the food unless you are hungry.

For Q3 and Q4, which ans is correct and why?

Thank you very much for any help!!!![/quote]For Q3 the correct answer is Ans2 and for Q4 the correct answer is Ans1.

Conjunctions do not simply join words, phrases and clauses: they express the relationship.

'Unless' is a subordinating conjunction, that is it joins a dependent idea to the main idea. The dependent clause follows 'unless'.

In Q3 the main idea is 'The new medicine will not be on sale'. In Q4 the main idea is 'You can finish all the food'.

'Unless' expresses the relationship 'except on the condition that'. In Q3 the condition is 'except on the condition that the medicine is properly tested'. In Q4 the condition is 'except on the condition that you are not hungry.'

The verb is usually affirmative after 'unless'.

Rgds
R

[starlight1968sg]

May I ask any online resources on PSLE Oral?

Many thanks.

[elkniwt]

Dear ridcully,


Thank you very much for helping. I am trying my best to understand so that I can explain to my dd. Appreciate your help.

Is this what we do, try to identify the main idea and the dependent clause. Then the dependent clause is placed after unless. And the main idea is not to be negated.

For Q4) You can finish all the food if you are hungry.
_______________unless _______________________

main idea is \"You can finish all the food\" so should not negate it to become \"You cannot finish all the food\"

Is this understanding correct??

For this qn,
1. Michael will not play basketball with us. He has to fetch his sister from school.
Unless _______________________________________________

Is the main idea \"Michael will not play basketball with us\" ?
And the dependent clause \"He has to fetch his sister from school.\"

Then if the main idea is not negated :
Unless Michael does not have to fetch his sister from school, he will not play basketball with us.
Sounds very weird. I am making myself more confused :?

Help!!
:imdrowning:

[Joy]

Hello all,


Would like to seek some answer for the S & T as below:

Claire was reluctant to part with her friends.

It was with________

DD answer : It was with reluctance did Claire part with her friends

Teacher’s answer: It was with reluctance did Claire parted with her friends.

Teacher marked DD answer wrong.

Can someone pls advice.Thanks

Rgds
joy

[ridcully]

[quote="elkniwt"]

Is this what we do, try to identify the main idea and the dependent clause. Then the dependent clause is placed after unless.
[\quote]
Yes, yes and yes.

[quote]
And the main idea is not to be negated.
[\quote]
I did not say that. I said that the dependent clause is usually written in the affirmative; that is what I meant by saying that the verb following unless is usually written in the affirmative.

The negation of the main idea cannot be prejudged: It all depends on context.

Grammatical rules are not like mathematical rules: grammar rules aim to assist good writing. The key is comprehension. When doing S&T, you cannot change the meaning.

[quote]
Is the main idea "Michael will not play basketball with us" ?
And the dependent clause "He has to fetch his sister from school."
[\quote]
Yes and yes.

[quote]Then if the main idea is not negated :
Unless Michael does not have to fetch his sister from school, he will not play basketball with us.
[\quote]
Not sure I understand you: here, you have negated the main idea. In fact, in this question the main idea needs to be stated positively as per your daughter’s answer. Note that the dependent clause is stated positively too.

Key is comprehension.

Rgds
R

[ridcully]

Joy:

Claire was reluctant to part with her friends.


It was with________

DD answer : It was with reluctance did Claire part with her friends

Teacher's answer: It was with reluctance did Claire parted with her friends.

Teacher marked DD answer wrong.

Your daughter and her teacher are both wrong. In terms of usage of 'did' and an infinitive, your daughter's answer is 'more right'.

The correct answer should be:

It was with reluctance that Claire parted with her friends.

Rgds
R

[tianzhu]

starlight1968sg:

May I ask any online resources on PSLE Oral?

Many thanks.

Hi

Hope this helps.

http://www.todaysmotherhood.com/2010/04/tips-for-oral-examinations/

Best wishes

[Mum1113]

Help needed on Qns on S n T :


1. The city is holding the marathon on Saturday.
DS's answer : The marathon is being held in the city on Saturday.
Given answer : The marathon is being held by the city on Saturday.
This mummy thinks the answer should be in, as it sounds more correct than by.


2. Who invented the first camera ?
DS's answer : By whom the first camera was invented ?
Given answer : Who was the first camera invented by ?
This mummy thinks given answer just doesnt' sound correct ...?

Any experts kind to share your thoughts....MTIA

[ridcully]

Mum1113:

1. The city is holding the marathon on Saturday.
DS's answer : The marathon is being held in the city on Saturday.
Given answer : The marathon is being held by the city on Saturday.
This mummy thinks the answer should be in, as it sounds more correct than by.

The given answer is correct. It is not a case of which sounds better: it is a case of understanding what S&T is about and of comprehension.

The sentence 'The city is holding the marathon on Saturday' is an active sentence. Here, 'the city' is the subject doing the action of holding the marathon. This active sentence has to be rewritten into the passive. In the passive, 'the marathon' becomes subject but 'the city' is retained as the agent hence 'by'.

You are using the preposition 'in' because you are thinking of the location where the marathon is held, which is not the question.
[quote]2. Who invented the first camera ?
DS's answer : By whom the first camera was invented ?
Given answer : Who was the first camera invented by ?
This mummy thinks given answer just doesnt' sound correct ...?[/quote]The given answer is correct for spoken English. For written English, the preferred answer would be:

By whom was the first camera invented?

In the course of my teaching, I frequently come across parents and children showing me worksheets marked by school teachers, tuition centre teachers and private tutors full of marking errors, especially in S&T. I wonder what's going on?

Rgds
R

[Mum1113]

ridcully:

it is a case of understanding what S&T is about and of comprehension.

Thanks ridcully....so it goes back to the fundamentals of keep practising.