Q&A - PSLE English

[meimeitan]

Thanks

[Mdm Koh]

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.

I'm going to try these questions, but I have to say that the questions don't sound grammatically correct. Did you get these from an assessment book?

1. Frank told his friend that he did not know who the parcel was from, but he realised that it was probably from his third uncle. (missing \"just now\", not clear where it fits in)

2. My neighbour plays mahjong on Friday evenings, but she is otherwise very committed to her family and work.

3. Mrs Tan asked her five-year-old son to count the beads carefully and tell her how many there were 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

Thanks for the input. The same thought occurred to me for the first question, but I opted to remove \"by someone\", as it does nothing for the sentence. Perhaps it's because I used to work as a book editor.

However, Ridcully, it seems that your debate with James is getting to you. :slapshead:

[ridcully]

Mum1113:

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.

Nearly there. Like Mdm Koh says, it is a rather clunky question so I have exercised a little artistic licence, consistent with answers expected in the PSLE. The basic principle is to move the direct speech further into the past and adjust adverbs of time accordingly:

Frank told his friend that he had not known from whom that parcel was at first, but then realised it was probably from his third uncle.

Enlightening
R

[ridcully]

Mdm Koh:

2. My neighbour plays mahjong on Friday evenings, but she is otherwise very committed to her family and work.


3. Mrs Tan asked her five-year-old son to count the beads carefully and tell her how many there were altogether.

Good answers.

Mdm Koh:

However, Ridcully, it seems that your debate with James is getting to you. :slapshead:

Not at all. I'm just having a little fun. Possibly I should make it more self-deprecating rather than go for easy targets. :rotflmao:

Anyway, your efforts in answering these latest questions are much appreciated by all, especially me because I find it rather time-consuming these days to answer so many queries.

Best regards and keep up the good work!
R

[Vanilla Cake]

Source: Rosyth School P6 SA1 2009 Q68


Yang Liwei spoke to his family while in space. He also orbited the earth fourteen times in one day.
Not only _____________________________________________________________________________

Answer given
Not only did Yang Liwei spoke to his family while in space, but he also orbited the earth fourteen times in one day.

My answer
Not only did Yang Liwei speak to his family while in space, but he also orbited the earth fourteen times in one day.

Pls advise which one is the correct answer. Thanks for your time to answer this question. Mdm Koh / ridcully - Your kindness in answering my previous questions with clear explanations is appreciated.

[pixiedust]

indoor vs indoors

Source: A sentence lifted from sample compo given by school.

Question : I had to stay indoor/indoors as it was raining heavily.
Am I right ?-> indoor is an adjective eg. indoor pool. It is incorrect to write 'to stay indoor', instead it should be 'to stay indoors'.

[ridcully]

Vanilla Cake:

Source: Rosyth School P6 SA1 2009 Q68


Yang Liwei spoke to his family while in space. He also orbited the earth fourteen times in one day.
Not only _____________________________________________________________________________

Answer given
Not only did Yang Liwei spoke to his family while in space, but he also orbited the earth fourteen times in one day.

My answer
Not only did Yang Liwei speak to his family while in space, but he also orbited the earth fourteen times in one day.

Your answer is the correct one. The finite verb is 'did' so you are correct to have 'speak' in its base form.

I have always thought that Rosyth School was overrated. This example of incorrect answers by Rosyth is one of many passed to me by various parents.

Rgds
R

[ridcully]

pixiedust:

indoor vs indoors

Source: A sentence lifted from sample compo given by school.

Question : I had to stay indoor/indoors as it was raining heavily.
Am I right ?-> indoor is an adjective eg. indoor pool. It is incorrect to write 'to stay indoor', instead it should be 'to stay indoors'.

Yes, 'indoor' is an adjective and 'indoors' is an adverb. Hence:

Ridcully swam in his indoor swimming pool rather than his outdoor one.

Ridcully had to stay indoors because he was irritated by the paparazzi lurking outdoors.

Swimmingly
R

[pixiedust]

Thanks R.


About the answers to past year questions, we buy the exam papers from vendors, not the schools. I am not quite sure where the answers are taken from, I suspect they took it from the source child (after teacher goes through the paper in class) and hence there is high risk of communication and other errors. I believe the answers are not provided by the schools.

[ridcully]

pixiedust:

About the answers to past year questions, we buy the exam papers from vendors, not the schools. I am not quite sure where the answers are taken from, I suspect they took it from the source child (after teacher goes through the paper in class) and hence there is high risk of communication and other errors. I believe the answers are not provided by the schools.

Being a magical and benevolent pixie, you are very charitable! Although I am magical, I am neither benevolent nor charitable when it comes to bad English.


At the tuition centre where I work and in my private tuition [no, I am not advertising], I meet children from many schools (both 'top' schools and 'neighbourhood' ones) who show me their school worksheets and the erroneous corrections done by their teachers. My suspicion is that the mistakes originate at source, that is the schools.

Rgds
R