Q&A - P4 English

[janet88]

ridcully:

teh_oh:

(1) For synthesis and transformation questions, is the sequence of answers important? Eg
\"Tom is the new boy in class. He is from England.\"
\"Tom, who _______________________\"

Child's Ans: Tom, who is from England, is the new boy in class.
Ans Key: Tom, who is the new boy in class, is from England.
Is my child's answer acceptable?

(2) The mall was packed with many shoppers. There was a sale.
- (no connector words given).

Child's Ans: The mall was packed with many shoppers as there was a sale.
Ans Key: The mall was packed with many shopers since there was a sale.
Is my child's answer acceptable?

I would go for 'Tom, who is from England, is the new boy in class.' The main idea is that there is a new boy in class called Tom. The information about being from England is secondary, and so rightly follows the relative pronoun.

For your second sentence, I would say that your child's answer is acceptable. The subordinate conjunctions 'since' and 'as' can both be used for cause/reason.

1) \"Tom is the new boy in class. He is from England.\"
My answer: Tom, who is the new boy in class is from England.

[ridcully]

janet_lee88:

The information about coming from England is appositional, that is it provides further details about the subject of the sentence; it is not the main idea.

R

[soyabean]

So... There_______ some books and a pen.

1) is
2) are

ans = are???

So... the ans depends on the noun right after the blank...?

Thanks

ridcully:

soyabean:

There_____ a pen, some books and some pencils.

1) is
2) are

??

1)

R

[janet88]

ridcully:

janet_lee88:

The information about coming from England is appositional, that is it provides further details about the subject of the sentence; it is not the main idea.

R

The answer key: Tom who is the new boy in class, is from England.
So my guess is correct.

[ridcully]

janet_lee88:

ridcully:

janet_lee88:

The information about coming from England is appositional, that is it provides further details about the subject of the sentence; it is not the main idea.

R

The answer key: Tom who is the new boy in class, is from England.
So my guess is correct.

There's the rub: You are relying upon an answer key and you are guessing. I have shown in several postings on a variety of grammatical topics that there are often mistakes in answer keys. Also, I have never guessed: I offer a cogent reason to support my solutions.

I am happy for you to correct any mistakes I make. If the answer key you allude to explains why 'new boy' is appositional and not 'from England', or you can explain in the absence of elaboration in the answer key, then I welcome the correction.

R

[ridcully]

soyabean:

He is wearing an __________ look on his face.


1) agonized
2) agonizing

It is answer 1).

'Agonized' means showing or feeling extreme pain/anxiety whereas 'agonizing' means causing extreme pain/anxiety.

Of course, I could be witty and say that someone's look is so awful that it causes other people pain, therefore 'agonizing' would be correct. But I wouldn't be so cruel...

[teh_oh]

Hi R and Janet,

Thanks for both your comments.

[tamarind]

ridcully:

KRR:

Can somebody help me with this question.

The coach told the athlete that the ____ he trained the ____ he could run.
(1) more.....faster
(2) more....fastest
(3) most...fastest
(4) most...faster
This is from Primary 3 Tao Nan. The answer sheet says (2) as the answer. Can you tell me the reason.

Thanks in advance
KRR

So much for Tao Nan.

The correct answer is (1). The comparative, not the superlative, is required because you are making a comparison from one earlier state to a later state.

My goodness. How could the answer be (2) ? Of course it is (1). I do remember the grammar that I learned in school.

No wonder kids need tuition nowadays.

[ridcully]

soyabean:

So... There_______ some books and a pen.

1) is
2) are

ans = are???

So... the ans depends on the noun right after the blank...?

Thanks

Yes.

To be fair, this is a contested part of grammar. Some grammarians argue that you should use 'are' when two or more nouns follow joined by 'and', and at least the first noun is singular. However, for PSLE standard I think the first noun rule is acceptable.

Of course, if a PSLE examiner reading this post wants to huff and puff and correct me, I am happy to listen.

R

[atutor2001]

ridcully:

soyabean:

So... There_______ some books and a pen.

1) is
2) are

ans = are???

So... the ans depends on the noun right after the blank...?

Thanks

Yes.

To be fair, this is a contested part of grammar. Some grammarians argue that you should use 'are' when two or more nouns follow joined by 'and', and at least the first noun is singular. However, for PSLE standard I think the first noun rule is acceptable.

Of course, if a PSLE examiner reading this post wants to huff and puff and correct me, I am happy to listen.

R

Hi ridcully, during my kids' time (more than 10 years ago), PSLE standard uses 'are' when there are two or more nouns joined by 'and'.

Regards