Q&A - PSLE English

[Kloggy]

Need some help in the following S&T


1. Everyone was given a free goodie bag at the opening ceremony except Jason.
All _______________________________________

Correct answer is :All but Jason were given free goodie bags at the opening ceremony.

Is the following acceptable ?
All but Jason were given a free goodie bag at the opening ceremony.

2. I did not realise how difficult the course was. That was why I signed up.
Had ________________

Ans given : Had I realised how difficult the course was, I would not have signed up for it.

Qn : is the 'for it' at the end needed ? Can the answer just be :
Had I realised how difficult the course was, I would not have signed up.

3. The children were amazed. The magician pulled a rabbit out of an empty hat.
_____________________ much to __________________

My qn here is on punctuation. In the following answer, if the comma was omitted, is it still grammatically correct :

The magician pulled a rabbit out of an empty hat, much to the children's amazement.


Thanks in advance.

[jamestancx997]

1. It is acceptable but not the best answer, because of ambiguity. It could also be taken to mean all of them were given just one goodie bag, without the word "each" at the end of the phrase. Since you don’t need to stretch it so far from the original, just pluralize "goodie bags".


2. Acceptable. "Sign up" is terminology in common parlance. No reason why "for it" should be absolutely compulsory.

3. For clarity of clausal separation a comma is strongly recommended.

[ridcully]

meimeitan:

(1) My mother reported the matter to the police. My aunt did not report it.

It ________________________________________________________

(2) The boy took some money from the drawer. His mother walked in.
No sooner __________________________________________________

(1) It was my mother who reported the matter to the police, not my aunt.
(2) No sooner had the boy taken some money from the drawer than his mother walked in

Rgds
R

[ridcully]

anneshirleygilbert:

Question : \"Did you eat my cake?\" Jane asked Tom.


Should it be (1) : Jane asked Tom if he had eaten her cake.
Or should it be (2) : Jane asked Tom if he ate her cake.

Answer is (1).

Normally when we rewrite from direct to indirect speech, we push the verb one step into the past. Thus:

If direct speech is in the present tense, then indirect speech becomes past simple.
If direct speech is in the past simple, then indirect speech becomes past perfect.
If direct speech is in the past perfect, then indirect speech remains past perfect because we cannot push back further.

Rgds
R

[ridcully]

Kloggy:

1. Everyone was given a free goodie bag at the opening ceremony except Jason.

All _______________________________________

Correct answer is :All but Jason were given free goodie bags at the opening ceremony.

Is the following acceptable ?
All but Jason were given a free goodie bag at the opening ceremony.

This answer is preferable to the 'correct' answer. It captures the notion that each student, with the exception of Jason, was given one goodie bag.

The 'correct' answer is ambiguous in that it implies that each student, with the exception of Jason, was given more than one goodie bag.

Kloggy:

2. I did not realise how difficult the course was. That was why I signed up.
Had ________________

Ans given : Had I realised how difficult the course was, I would not have signed up for it.

Qn : is the 'for it' at the end needed ? Can the answer just be :
Had I realised how difficult the course was, I would not have signed up.

No. Combined sentences should retain antecedents and referents unless these are repeated.

Kloggy:

3. The children were amazed. The magician pulled a rabbit out of an empty hat.
_____________________ much to __________________

My qn here is on punctuation. In the following answer, if the comma was omitted, is it still grammatically correct :

The magician pulled a rabbit out of an empty hat, much to the children's amazement.

Still grammatically correct. The use of the comma here is one of style, not grammar.

Rgds
R

[ridcully]

jamestancx997:

1. It is acceptable but not the best answer, because of ambiguity. It could also be taken to mean all of them were given just one goodie bag, without the word \"each\" at the end of the phrase. Since you don't need to stretch it so far from the original, just pluralize \"goodie bags\".

Wrong. All of them, with the exception of Jason, were indeed given just one goodie bag each: look at the source sentences.

jamestancx997:

2. Acceptable. \"Sign up\" is terminology in common parlance. No reason why \"for it\" should be absolutely compulsory.

True that 'sign up' is informal, but wrong about referents. See my answer to the original poster.

jamestancx997:

3. For clarity of clausal separation a comma is strongly recommended.

Possibly true, but are you sure that 'much to the children's amazement' is a clause?

Hope you feel more enlightened.

Rgds
R

[Kloggy]

definitely more enlightened, thank you!

[anneshirleygilbert]

Thank you, meimeitan and Ridcully.

[jamestancx997]

ridcully:

jamestancx997:

1. It is acceptable but not the best answer, because of ambiguity. It could also be taken to mean all of them were given just one goodie bag, without the word \"each\" at the end of the phrase. Since you don't need to stretch it so far from the original, just pluralize \"goodie bags\".

Wrong. All of them, with the exception of Jason, were indeed given just one goodie bag each: look at the source sentences.

jamestancx997:

2. Acceptable. \"Sign up\" is terminology in common parlance. No reason why \"for it\" should be absolutely compulsory.

True that 'sign up' is informal, but wrong about referents. See my answer to the original poster.

jamestancx997:

3. For clarity of clausal separation a comma is strongly recommended.

Possibly true, but are you sure that 'much to the children's amazement' is a clause?

Hope you feel more enlightened.

Rgds
R

1. You are mistaken about the meaning of my sentences. I mean the same thing as you: that everyone was given 1 goodie bag, so for clarity it should read \"one goodie bag each\", failing which it is perfectly acceptable to say they were collectively given goodie bags.

2. I didn't say anything about referents or antecedents. My response was concerned with practical usage.

3. My mistake here. I meant phrasal, not clausal.

See, instead of making strange comments like \"I leave it to everyone decide whose answer was more helpful,\" I own up to mistakes when I make them. Nobody is perfect, and it should be a cooperative effort on all our parts to arrive at the best answers.

Since I sense that I am conspicuously omitted from acknowledgement lists on a pretty consistent basis so far, I think I shall just leave this roost to forum old-timers.

[ridcully]

jamestancx997:

1. You are mistaken about the meaning of my sentences. I mean the same thing as you...

In that case, you need to tidy up your written expression.

jamestancx997:

2. I didn't say anything about referents or antecedents. My response was concerned with practical usage.

Depending on how flexible you wish the concept of 'practical usage' to be, the PSLE is not a test of practical usage.

jamestancx997:

It should be a cooperative effort on all our parts to arrive at the best answers.

Glad to hear it. You previously admitted to self-promotion, so I see hope for you.

jamestancx997:

Since I sense that I am conspicuously omitted from acknowledgement lists on a pretty consistent basis so far, I think I shall just leave this roost to forum old-timers.

You are worried about popularity? If you wish to help others, do not be concerned with lack of acknowledgement.

I acknowledge your effort.

Rgds
R