Q&A - PSLE English

[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

[PiggyLalala]

I have been reading the posts in this topic. The answers given by ridcully were well explained. I have learned much from your answers. :thankyou:

[ridcully]

Thanks, PiggyLalala. I appreciate that.


:celebrate:

[babyblissnz]

Thanks ridcully! Sorry for taking this long to reply, but thanks for your comment.

[Brenda10]

Hi, need help on the following three S&T as dd answers are different with the ans key provided:

(Ref: NYPS 2010 Prelim paper)

Q67. You cannot take the cake out of the oven yet. It has to turn brown.

DD: You cannot take the cake out of the oven until it has turned brown.

Ans: You cannot take the cake out of the oven until it turns brown.


Q68. Mr Tan had just washed his new sports car. It started to rain.

DD : No sooner had Mr Tan washed his new sports car, it started to rain.

Ans : No sooner had Mr Tan washed his new sports car than it started to rain.


Q69. The acrobats enthralled the spectators with their stunning act.

DD: The spectators were enthralled with the acrobats' stunning act.

Ans: The spectators were enthralled by the acrobats' stunning act.

Thank you.

[ridcully]

Brenda10:

Q67. You cannot take the cake out of the oven yet. It has to turn brown.


DD: You cannot take the cake out of the oven until it has turned brown.

Ans: You cannot take the cake out of the oven until it turns brown.

The answer key is correct. Your daughter is using the present perfect for what is called 'unspecified time'. Normally, such usage is for events that happened in the past when the time is unimportant.

Brenda10:

Q68. Mr Tan had just washed his new sports car. It started to rain.

DD : No sooner had Mr Tan washed his new sports car, it started to rain.

Ans : No sooner had Mr Tan washed his new sports car than it started to rain.

Again, the answer key is correct. 'No sooner ... than' is a correlative conjunction, that is comes in pairs.

Brenda10:

Q69. The acrobats enthralled the spectators with their stunning act.

DD: The spectators were enthralled with the acrobats' stunning act.

Ans: The spectators were enthralled by the acrobats' stunning act.

Again, the answer key is correct. When you rewrite from an active to a passive sentence, you often have to change the preposition, in this case 'with' becomes 'by'.

If it is any consolation, I doubt whether many P6 students have the command of grammar to resolve the first and the third questions. However, the second question - no sooner than - is standard.

Hope that helps.
R

[Brenda10]

ridcully:

Brenda10:

Q67. You cannot take the cake out of the oven yet. It has to turn brown.


DD: You cannot take the cake out of the oven until it has turned brown.

Ans: You cannot take the cake out of the oven until it turns brown.

The answer key is correct. Your daughter is using the present perfect for what is called 'unspecified time'. Normally, such usage is for events that happened in the past when the time is unimportant.

Brenda10:

Q68. Mr Tan had just washed his new sports car. It started to rain.

DD : No sooner had Mr Tan washed his new sports car, it started to rain.

Ans : No sooner had Mr Tan washed his new sports car than it started to rain.

Again, the answer key is correct. 'No sooner ... than' is a correlative conjunction, that is comes in pairs.

Brenda10:

Q69. The acrobats enthralled the spectators with their stunning act.

DD: The spectators were enthralled with the acrobats' stunning act.

Ans: The spectators were enthralled by the acrobats' stunning act.

Again, the answer key is correct. When you rewrite from an active to a passive sentence, you often have to change the preposition, in this case 'with' becomes 'by'.

If it is any consolation, I doubt whether many P6 students have the command of grammar to resolve the first and the third questions. However, the second question - no sooner than - is standard.

Hope that helps.
R

Hi ridcully

:thankyou: for your help. :lol:

[Mum1113]

Interestingly, mine got all correct

[Brenda10]

Mum1113:

Interestingly, mine got all correct

Hi Mum1113

That's great! We are in the process of clearning all the 2010 EL S&T section and would seek help :imdrowning: here if there is doubt.