Q&A - PSLE English

[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.

[ridcully]

vidhyalog:

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.

This concerns antecedents. You should only use a pronoun, and you should only place it accordingly, when what it refers to is unambiguously established. For example:

Teacher Ridcully thanks all the people who wished him well during his recent absence.

When you have a complex sentence, that is a sentence with a main clause and a subordinate one, the rule is that it is the main clause which has the noun and it is the subordinate clause which takes the pronoun. For example:

Teacher Ridcully spilt the red ink because he was careless.

Here, 'Teacher Ridcully spilt the red ink' is the main clause, and 'because he was careless' is the subordinate clause.

It would be sloppy - and potentially misleading given context from nearby sentences - to write:

He spilt the red ink because Teacher Ridcully was careless.

It is permissible to write:

Because he was careless, Teacher Ridcully spilt the red ink.

It is useful to remember that a main clause can standalone as a simple sentence, that is it is a complete idea. On the other hand, a subordinate clause cannot standalone: It takes its meaning in terms of the main clause. Thus, the main clause has priority and takes the noun whereas the subordinate clause takes the pronoun.

Rgds
R

[ridcully]

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:

Yes, DS's answers are perfectly acceptable.

These questions of S&T test a child's knowledge of prepositions versus conjunctions.

A short-hand way of thinking about these issues is to see that a preposition is followed by a noun or noun equivalent (such as a gerund) whereas a conjunction is followed by a clause.

Note:
Due to his perseverance .... = correct: preposition followed by noun

Due to Tom persevered .... = nonsense: cannot follow preposition with a clause

Due to the fact that Tom persevered ... = permissible: 'the fact' is a noun phrase; hence, prepositional integrity is maintained, although it is a bit of a fudge.

As a result of his determination ... = correct: preposition followed by noun

As a result of being determined ... = correct: preposition followed by a gerund

Rgds
R

[zsqchx]

Please help for the following question:


Ques: She put on a disguise. She did not want her friends to recognise her.

MY Dd's answer: To avoid her friends recognising her, she put on a disguise.

Thank you!

[ridcully]

zsqchx:

Please help for the following question:


Ques: She put on a disguise. She did not want her friends to recognise her.

MY Dd's answer: To avoid her friends recognising her, she put on a disguise.

Thank you!

Interesting question! Your answer is certainly acceptable in colloquial English, but I feel that it is not quite grammatically correct. My preference would be for:

To avoid being recognised by her friends, she put on a disguise.

I feel that you should follow 'avoid' with the object receiving the action, which can be an -ing form. In your daughter's answer, it initially appears that she is avoiding her friends rather than, strictly, their not recognising her. She may in fact want to meet her friends in disguise and then surprise them. This is almost splitting hairs.

Rgds
R

[pixiedust]

Ridcully, so glad to \"see\" you again !


Source : RGPS SA2 Grammar MCQ

_______ any of the twins know about the plan tomorrow ?
(1) Do (2) Has (3) Have (4) Does

Answer key listed answer as DO
but I find it odd...after research, my conclusion is Do and Does are both acceptable hence this is a badly set question.

May I have your opinion ? Thanks.

[ridcully]

pixiedust:

_______ any of the twins know about the plan tomorrow ?

(1) Do (2) Has (3) Have (4) Does

Answer key listed answer as DO
but I find it odd...after research, my conclusion is Do and Does are both acceptable hence this is a badly set question.

Thanks for the welcome back! :hugs:

The structure 'any' plus 'of phrase' has certain complications. However, for primary level students the simplest rule is that the form of 'do' agrees with the noun. Thus, the answer is (1) because 'twins' is plural.

It helps to rewrite the question into a statement and see the resulting subject-verb agreement:

The twins do know about the plan tomorrow.

We would not write:
The twins does know about the plan tomorrow.

I agree that it is a badly set question. In fact, we normally say:

Does either of the twins know about the plan tomorrow?

'Any' on the other hand usually refers to three or more people.

Yes, 'do' and 'does' are terribly mixed up on the internet... However, it is true that sometimes a singular verb sounds better:

Does any of these magical pointed hats belong to you?

Here, the singular 'does' sounds better because it is likely that only one of the magical pointed hats belongs to a given pixie.

Rgds
R

[tisha]

ridcully:

These questions of S&T test a child's knowledge of prepositions versus conjunctions.

A short-hand way of thinking about these issues is to see that a preposition is followed by a noun or noun equivalent (such as a gerund) whereas a conjunction is followed by a clause.

Note:
Due to his perseverance .... = correct: preposition followed by noun

Due to Tom persevered .... = nonsense: cannot follow preposition with a clause

Due to the fact that Tom persevered ... = permissible: 'the fact' is a noun phrase; hence, prepositional integrity is maintained, although it is a bit of a fudge.

As a result of his determination ... = correct: preposition followed by noun

As a result of being determined ... = correct: preposition followed by a gerund

Rgds
R

:thankyou: very much

[zsqchx]

ridcully:

zsqchx:

Please help for the following question:


Ques: She put on a disguise. She did not want her friends to recognise her.

MY Dd's answer: To avoid her friends recognising her, she put on a disguise.

Thank you!

Interesting question! Your answer is certainly acceptable in colloquial English, but I feel that it is not quite grammatically correct. My preference would be for:

To avoid being recognised by her friends, she put on a disguise.

I feel that you should follow 'avoid' with the object receiving the action, which can be an -ing form. In your daughter's answer, it initially appears that she is avoiding her friends rather than, strictly, their not recognising her. She may in fact want to meet her friends in disguise and then surprise them. This is almost splitting hairs.

Rgds
R

Thank you very much!