Q&A - PSLE English

[Mum1113]

Thanks ridcully . Given answers as follows :

1. No matter how hard Tim had tried, he could not hit any pin with the bowling bowl.
2. The evening dress that Alice bought was neither cheap nor attractive.
3. No sooner after the boy took some money from the drawer, his mother walked in.

I want to highlight to son and he is quite certain his answers are correct.

[ridcully]

Mum1113:

Thanks ridcully . Given answers as follows :

1. No matter how hard Tim had tried, he could not hit any pin with the bowling bowl.
2. The evening dress that Alice bought was neither cheap nor attractive.
3. No sooner after the boy took some money from the drawer, his mother walked in.

I want to highlight to son and he is quite certain his answers are correct.

Ans 1. is wrong on two accounts: firstly, there's no justification for the past perfect as two things are not happening in the past with one being earlier than the other; secondly, we put the proper noun (in this case, Tim) in the main clause, and the pronoun (in this case, he) in the subordinate clause.

Ans 2. is acceptable. Personally, I do not like the word 'cheap', but that's a preference of style rather than a grammatical issue.

Ans 3. is wrong for two reasons: This time you need the past perfect because two things have happened in the past, one earlier than the other; it is not permissible to use 'after' as a conjunction here because you already have the conjunction pair 'no sooner ... than'.

Hope that helps.
R

[Mum1113]

ridcully , you are making my son confident of his answers and he is on the right path , Yeapie Yeah !

[babyblissnz]

I'm wondering if you can help us... :imdrowning:


We are new to Singapore - actually my child just joined the local school at the end of last year. Born and raised in an English speaking country and being an avid reader she is, we were relaxed about her English.

However, it becomes apparent that she doesn't score as high as she expected. Both her P5 SA2 and P6 SA1 are in low 70s. Since she lost points evenly throughout Paper 1 and 2, I cannot determine her weak areas. Her compo was in high 30s.

Do you have any suggestions on how to help improve her English?
Is it easy to improve Compo?(She loves writing, but...) Or are there any sections which are relatively easy to improve in a short period? Are there any exam taking techniques?

Any advices are greatly appreciated since we are new to this whole system and PSLE is just a few months away!

[yingxuan0806]

can someone help me with these synthesis question please? thx in advance


1) The orchid is the most beautiful flower in the Botanic Gardens.
There is _______.

2) Alice was accused of being a thief by Cathy.
Cathy made the _______.

[ridcully]

babyblissnz:

Any advices are greatly appreciated since we are new to this whole system and PSLE is just a few months away!

The PSLE is the culmination of six years of schooling and exam preparation.


Given your background, I would suggest you engage a decent private tutor and enrol your child in intensive courses at enrichment centres these June and September holidays.

[ridcully]

yingxuan0806:

1) The orchid is the most beautiful flower in the Botanic Gardens.

There is _______.

2) Alice was accused of being a thief by Cathy.
Cathy made the _______.

There is no flower in the Botanic Gardens more beautiful than the orchid.

Cathy made the accusation that Alice was a thief.

PS. I prefer to answer these types of questions after the poster has had a go himself/herself, otherwise I feel that I am doing someone's homework.

[Mum1113]

Hi, pls help with these :


Qn : Mrs Lim tried very hard but she was unable to convince her husband to give up smoking.
Ans : No matter how ______________________________ .
Given ans : No matter how hard Mrs Lim tried, she was unable to convince her husband to give up smoking.

Is this acceptable ? No matter how hard Mrs Lim tried to convince her husband to give up smoking, she could not.


Qn : Inspector Raju inquired ," Where were you yesterday evening, Mr Singh?"
Ans : Inspector Raju asked _________________________________ .
Given ans : Inspector Raju asked Mr Singh where he had been the previous evening.

Is this acceptable ? Inspector Raju asked where Mr Singh had been the previous evening.

MTIA

[ridcully]

Mum1113:

Is this acceptable ? No matter how hard Mrs Lim tried to convince her husband to give up smoking, she could not.

Not acceptable.


The main idea is being unable to convince her husband to give up smoking. This is the main clause which should be able to standalone as a simple sentence; thus, it follows the comma, not the connector.

Mum1113:

Is this acceptable ? Inspector Raju asked where Mr Singh had been the previous evening.

Not acceptable. There is ambiguity as to whom is being addressed: Inspector Raju might not be speaking to Mr Singh.

[Mum1113]

thanks ridcully