Q&A - PSLE English

[zhengling]

Hi there let me try to help.


None is an ambiguous subject, which can be plural or singular. From what I know, it is situational and you have to look at what it is referring to and what effect or message it is showing.

In the second example ‘None but the selected boys have money’.

My take is that none in this case refers to the whole group except the select few, thus it is plural.

You only use singular if you are trying to emphasise the idea of ‘not one’ or you use it with uncountable items (water).

‘Till this day, none of the thieves has been caught’
‘None of the water is clean’


In the first example

No one,except p and j, likes durians.

No one is more clear cut, it is always considered as singular. Do not let the phrase ‘except P and J’ confuse you as it is not the subject in question.

[gallop]

Hi, please help with this comprehension close.


One of the most famous legends, ‘Robin Hood’ is _______ retelling as it ________ of the adventures of a courageous nobleman

A handsome reward was _________ for the capture of Robin Hood.

TiA

[mother777]

Not sure… But are the below given words the answers for the cloze.


About, tale, announced

Just wondering if the sentences are cooed correctly, especially the first paragraph. Some words looks mixed up…

[elkniwt]

Hi,


Need help on this synthesis qn:

John must seek the Principal’s approval. He cannot leave the school early.
unless____________________

Thanks.

[tianzhu]

elkniwt:

Hi,


Need help on this synthesis qn:

John must seek the Principal's approval. He cannot leave the school early.
_________________unless_____________________________________

Thanks.

Hi

Good Morning.

I’d go for either of these sentences.

John cannot leave the school early unless he seeks the principal's approval.

John cannot leave the school early unless he has sought the principal’s approval.

Please seek confirmation from your teachers.

Best wishes

[elkniwt]

tianzhu:

Hi

Good Morning.

I’d go for either of these sentences.

John cannot leave the school early unless he seeks the principal's approval.

John cannot leave the school early unless he has sought the principal’s approval.

Please seek confirmation from your teachers.

Best wishes

Hi Tianzhu,

Your two suggestions sound more right than the answer given in the answer key which is :

John cannot leave the school early unless he had sought the principal’s approval.

Thanks. Will ask dd to check with her teacher.

Regards.

[Zack7]

elkniwt:

tianzhu:

Hi

Good Morning.

I’d go for either of these sentences.

John cannot leave the school early unless he seeks the principal's approval.

John cannot leave the school early unless he has sought the principal’s approval.

Please seek confirmation from your teachers.

Best wishes

Hi Tianzhu,

Your two suggestions sound more right than the answer given in the answer key which is :

John cannot leave the school early unless he had sought the principal’s approval.

Thanks. Will ask dd to check with her teacher.

Regards.

the answer key is wrong

unless is always followed by the present tense, i.e seeks.

but in my opinion, the right way should be

john cannot leave the school UNLESS he seeks the principal's approval
this conveys the need to seek the principal and not the timing

or

john cannot leave the school UNTIL he has sought the principal's approval.
Until conveys the timing along with the 'has/hasn't'

[elkniwt]

Thank you so much, Zack7 and Tianzhu!!

:thankyou:

[ning_akn]

Hi Elkniwt,


May I know have your DD school teacher gives you an explanation on why the answer found in the answer is right?

I was pondering over this question and could not figure out why the answer was written in this manner.

Zack7 mentioned that Unless is always followed by present tense. I beg to differ. Under Conditional Clause Condition 3, we can write the sentence as :
John could not leave the school early unless he had sought the principal’s approval.

I have yet to find a supporting to use "cannot"…unless…"had sought"…

Aks

[elkniwt]

ning_akn:

Hi Elkniwt,


May I know have your DD school teacher gives you an explanation on why the answer found in the answer is right?

I was pondering over this question and could not figure out why the answer was written in this manner.

Zack7 mentioned that Unless is always followed by present tense. I beg to differ. Under Conditional Clause Condition 3, we can write the sentence as :
John could not leave the school early unless he had sought the principal's approval.

I have yet to find a supporting to use \"cannot\"...unless...\"had sought\"..

Aks

Hi ning_akn,

This question is from one of the top school exam papers. I think it is a CA1 paper. I don't have the name of the school off-hand. I will post when I check. My dd did this paper at home but was baffled by the answer key.

Thanks for all the help.

Regards.