Q&A - PSLE English

[PiggyLalala]

Daddy Ridcully, where are you? We need your help to explain the difficult and complicated grammar rules. Hope you are fine and will be back to KSP soon.

[mrswongtuition]

Hope this helps:


1) John’s father asks, "Do you know where your mother keeps the telephone bill?"
John’s father asks if he knows where his mother keeps the telephone bill.
John’s father asks whether he knows where his mother keeps the telephone bill.

Note: Reporting verb ‘says’ is in present tense, therefore there is no change in tenses.

2) The brothers made a card to express their appreciation and love for their mother
A card to express their appreciation and love for their mother was made by the brothers.

[P5G]

mrswongtuition:

Hope this helps:


1) John's father asks, \"Do you know where your mother keeps the telephone bill?\"
John's father asks if he knows where his mother keeps the telephone bill.
John's father asks whether he knows where his mother keeps the telephone bill.

Note: Reporting verb 'says' is in present tense, therefore there is no change in tenses.

2) The brothers made a card to express their appreciation and love for their mother
A card to express their appreciation and love for their mother was made by the brothers.

Mrs Wong,

Will my answers below be acceptable? Please advise. TIA.


1) John's father asks if John knows where his mother keeps the telephone bill.

2) A card of appreciation and love was made by the brothers for their mother.

[ms_lim]

Please advise if my dd’s answers are acceptable :


1) Yong Sheng was diligent. He did not pass his test with flying colours.
DD’s Ans : In spite of Yong Sheng’s diligence, he did not pass his test with flying colours.
Ans key : In spite of the fact that he was diligent, Yong Sheng did not pass his test with flying colours.

2) Helen drank her coffee. The waitress offered to refill the cup.
DD’s Ans : No sooner had Helen drunk her coffee than the waitress offered to refill the cup.
Ans key : No sooner had Helen drunk her coffee, the waitress offered to refill the cup.

3) The children raced downhill, screaming with excitement.
DD’s Ans : As the children raced downhill, they screamed with excitement.
Ans key : As they raced downhill, the children screamed with excitement.

[Alchemist]

mrswongtuition:

Hope this helps:


1) John's father asks, \"Do you know where your mother keeps the telephone bill?\"
John's father asks if he knows where his mother keeps the telephone bill.
John's father asks whether he knows where his mother keeps the telephone bill.

Note: Reporting verb 'says' is in present tense, therefore there is no change in tenses.

2) The brothers made a card to express their appreciation and love for their mother
A card to express their appreciation and love for their mother was made by the brothers.

Thanks mrswongtuition. For 2 - I suppose the key is to write in passive voice.

So would - \"A card expressing their appreciation and love for their mother was made by the brothers.' be ok?

[Alchemist]

ms_lim:

Please advise if my dd's answers are acceptable :


1) Yong Sheng was diligent. He did not pass his test with flying colours.
DD's Ans : In spite of Yong Sheng's diligence, he did not pass his test with flying colours.
Ans key : In spite of the fact that he was diligent, Yong Sheng did not pass his test with flying colours.

_____My son't teacher remarked both are correct. My son's answer was same as your daughter's.


2) Helen drank her coffee. The waitress offered to refill the cup.
DD's Ans : No sooner had Helen drunk her coffee than the waitress offered to refill the cup.
Ans key : No sooner had Helen drunk her coffee, the waitress offered to refill the cup.

------------Your daughter's answer is correct.

3) The children raced downhill, screaming with excitement.
DD's Ans : As the children raced downhill, they screamed with excitement.
Ans key : As they raced downhill, the children screamed with excitement.



__---------- there seems to be a debate about this. My son's teacher has advised them to put the pronoun (their) in the phrase and the noun (common or proper like children here or John) in the clause (ie after the comma). I don't understand why it must be like that. Anybody who can enlighten would be appreciated.

[tisha]

Need help with S & T:


Tom won the gold medal in the swimming competition. He persevered during the arduous training sessions.

Due to _______________________________________________

Answer Key: Due to the fact that Tom persevered during the arduous training sessions he won the gold medal.

DS's Answer: Due to his perseverance during the arduous training sessions Tom won the gold medal in the swimming competition.


David was determined to do well for his examination. In the end, he passed with flying colours.

As a result of _______________________________________________

Answer Key: As a result of his determination to do well for his examination, David passed with flying colours.

DS's Answer: As a result of being determined to do well for his examination, David passed with flying colours.

Is DS's ans acceptable? If not, can explain grammar rule pls. :please:

[ms_lim]

vidhyalog:

ms_lim:

Please advise if my dd's answers are acceptable :


1) Yong Sheng was diligent. He did not pass his test with flying colours.
DD's Ans : In spite of Yong Sheng's diligence, he did not pass his test with flying colours.
Ans key : In spite of the fact that he was diligent, Yong Sheng did not pass his test with flying colours.

_____My son't teacher remarked both are correct. My son's answer was same as your daughter's.


2) Helen drank her coffee. The waitress offered to refill the cup.
DD's Ans : No sooner had Helen drunk her coffee than the waitress offered to refill the cup.
Ans key : No sooner had Helen drunk her coffee, the waitress offered to refill the cup.

------------Your daughter's answer is correct.

3) The children raced downhill, screaming with excitement.
DD's Ans : As the children raced downhill, they screamed with excitement.
Ans key : As they raced downhill, the children screamed with excitement.



__---------- there seems to be a debate about this. My son's teacher has advised them to put the pronoun (their) in the phrase and the noun (common or proper like children here or John) in the clause (ie after the comma). I don't understand why it must be like that. Anybody who can enlighten would be appreciated.

Dear vidhyalog, :thankyou:

[Vanilla Cake]

Brenda10:

Hi, need help on the folowing S&T question from Pei Chun 2011 prelim paper as DD answer is different from the Answer key.


Q70. Jack was so forgetful that he left his wallet behind in the cinema.
DD : Owing to his forgetfulness, Jack left his wallet behind in the cinema.
Ans : Owing to the fact that Jack was forgetful, he left his wallet behind in the cinema.

Tinkerbelle:

Hi Brenda,
Both are acceptable answers.

DD mentioned that her teacher taught them to use a noun after \"owing to' so in this case, 'forgetfulness' is the noun. Thus DD also has the same answer as your DD.
Owing to his forgetfulness, Jack left his wallet behind in the cinema.
However, DD said her teacher told the class that they can also use \"Owing to the fact that........\"

Hi ridcully,

How about this answer: \"Owing to Jack's forgetfulness, he left his wallet behind in the cinema.\"? Is this acceptable? Pls advise and thks for your help.

[Vanilla Cake]

Hi ridcully,

2 S&T questions from Red Swastika School 2011 P6 Prelim English Paper 2:

Q67
Helen drank her coffee. The waitress offered to refill the cup.
No sooner ____________________________________________

Q68
\"Did you visit your grandfather like I have asked you to?\" Mrs Lee asked her son.
Mrs Lee asked _______________________________________________________

Thks for your time and explanation for the above 2 questions.