Q&A - PSLE English

[meimeitan]

Hi Mdm Koh


One more challenging question that I dun understand, pls help.

You have been weaing the same clothes for ages. Isn’t it time you ___________ some new ones?
(1) buy
(2) bought
(3) should buy
(4) should be buying

Which answer is correct?

How about the followings:

Someone has eaten all the cookes except the buttercake.
All ____________________________________________.
Should I mention "by someone" at the end of the sentence?

He drove the car into the parking lot. The car broke down.
Hardly __________________________________________.

Thanks.

[Mdm Koh]

meimeitan:

Hi Mdm Koh


One more challenging question that I dun understand, pls help.

You have been weaing the same clothes for ages. Isn't it time you ___________ some new ones?
(1) buy
(2) bought
(3) should buy
(4) should be buying

Which answer is correct?

How about the followings:

Someone has eaten all the cookes except the buttercake.
All ____________________________________________.
Should I mention \"by someone\" at the end of the sentence?

He drove the car into the parking lot. The car broke down.
Hardly __________________________________________.

Thanks.

Answer for first question is (2) bought.

As for the second question,

All the cookies, except the buttercake, have been eaten.

I don't think \"by someone\" is needed in the answer, because by saying \"All the cookies...have been eaten\", it already implies that someone (an unknown person) had eaten them.

Answer for last question,

Hardly had he driven his car into the parking lot when it broke down.

[TT2]

Hi Mdm Koh,


Thank you v much:)

[Vanilla Cake]

Source: CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' Sch (Pri) P6 2009 SA1 Q69

The puppy did not groan. It was in great pain.
Despite ________________________________

Answer given:
Despite the fact that the puppy was in great pain, it did not groan.

My answer:
Despite being in great pain, the puppy did not groan.

Pls advise if my answer is acceptable or not? What should be the correct answer?
Thanks in advance for your time and help.

[Mdm Koh]

Vanilla Cake:

Source: CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' Sch (Pri) P6 2009 SA1 Q69

The puppy did not groan. It was in great pain.
Despite ________________________________

Answer given:
Despite the fact that the puppy was in great pain, it did not groan.

My answer:
Despite being in great pain, the puppy did not groan.

Pls advise if my answer is acceptable or not? What should be the correct answer?
Thanks in advance for your time and help.

I think your answer is correct too.

[Eddow]

Mdm Koh:

Eddow:

Pls help with this S&T, totally clueless ...


1) We were happy but there was something missing without you.
____________________________ as ______________________

2) I could not push open the massive door however hard I tried.
____________________________ as _____________________

Thanks alot

[quote]These are my suggested answers,

1) We were happy but something was missing, as you were not there.
2) However hard I tried, I could not push open the door as it was massive. [quote]
Thanks for the help..

[ridcully]

Eddow:

meimeitan:

Hi


How about the following:

The chicken rice in this stall is cheap and delicious.
Not only ____________________________________.

Thanks.

I try this..
Not only cheap, the chicken rice in this stall is delicious.

This answer, whilst it has a certain literary value, would not be accepted in the PSLE. 'Not only...' and 'but also...' is a pair and should be used together.

Rgds
R

[Mum1113]

Hi 3 SnT qns, could you kindly help whether answers below are acceptable and correct ? Thanks !


Qn : \"I did not know from whom this parcel was just now but I realise it is probably from my third uncle,\" Frank told his friend.
Ans : Frank told his friend that he had not known from whom that parcel was from then, but realised it was probably from his third uncle.

Qn : My neighbour would only play 'mahjong' on Friday evening. She is very committed to her family and work.
Ans : Apart from playing 'mahjong' on Friday evening, my neighbour is otherwise very committed to her family and work.

Qn : \"Count the beads carefully and tell me how many are there altogether,\" Mrs Tan told her five-year-old son.
Ans : Mrs Tan asked her five-year-old son to count the beads carefully and tell her how many were there altogether.

[ridcully]

Mdm Koh:

Someone has eaten all the cookes except the buttercake.

All ____________________________________________.
Should I mention \"by someone\" at the end of the sentence?

He drove the car into the parking lot. The car broke down.
Hardly __________________________________________.

All the cookies, except the buttercake, have been eaten.

I don't think \"by someone\" is needed in the answer, because by saying \"All the cookies...have been eaten\", it already implies that someone (an unknown person) had eaten them.

True, but PSLE students often find it difficult to decide if the agent is relevant or not. I would recommend that 'by someone' be kept: It doesn't do any harm and removes the possibility that the cookies were eaten by more than one person.

Mdm Koh:

Hardly had he driven his car into the parking lot when it broke down.

This sounds a little stilted to me, although local assessment books often show this format. Better is:

Hardly had he driven his car into the parking lot than it broke down.

'When' is usually used without inversion; 'than' is usually used with inversion. For example:

Mdm Koh had hardly answered the question when Ridcully thought she writes like James.

Hardly had Mdm Koh answered the question than Ridcully thought that she writes like James.

Enlightening
R

[ridcully]

Vanilla Cake:

Source: CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' Sch (Pri) P6 2009 SA1 Q69

The puppy did not groan. It was in great pain.
Despite ________________________________

Answer given:
Despite the fact that the puppy was in great pain, it did not groan.

My answer:
Despite being in great pain, the puppy did not groan.

Pls advise if my answer is acceptable or not? What should be the correct answer?
Thanks in advance for your time and help.

Both are correct. 'Despite' is a preposition and should be followed by a noun or noun equivalent: 'the fact' is a noun phrase; 'being' is a gerund.

Enlightening
R