Primary 3 English Semestral Assessment 2 (End of Year) Paper 3

TuitionGoWhere Practice Paper - English Primary 3

Answer Key — Version 3 of 5

Paper: SA2 (End-of-Year Examination) Total Marks: 50

Section A: Grammar MCQ (10 marks)

1. (3) play

• Reasoning: "The children" is a plural subject, so it takes the plural verb "play" (without -s). The time marker "every afternoon" indicates simple present tense.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (1) "plays" if they forget that plural subjects do not take the -s form.

2. (3) baked

• Reasoning: The word "yesterday" signals past tense. The past tense of "bake" is "baked."
• Common mistake: Students may choose (2) "bakes" if they overlook the past time marker.

3. (1) is

• Reasoning: "Milk" is an uncountable noun, so it takes a singular verb. "There is" is correct.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (2) "are" by treating "milk" as a countable noun.

4. (3) under

• Reasoning: A cat hiding below the table is "under" the table. "On" means on top; "between" requires two objects; "into" implies movement entering something.

5. (4) are

• Reasoning: "Sarah and Tom" is a compound subject joined by "and," which requires a plural verb. "Are" is the correct plural form of "to be" for present tense.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (1) "is" if they only look at the first noun.

6. (1) will

• Reasoning: "Next Sunday" indicates future tense. "Will" is the correct modal verb for simple future.
• Common mistake: Students may confuse "will" with "was" if they do not identify the future time marker.

7. (3) are

• Reasoning: "The birds" is a plural subject. "Now" indicates present continuous tense, which uses "are + verb-ing."
• Common mistake: Students may choose (1) "is" if they do not recognise the plural subject.

8. (2) has

• Reasoning: "Everyone" is an indefinite pronoun that takes a singular verb. "Has completed" is present perfect tense, which is appropriate here.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (1) "have" by treating "everyone" as plural.

9. (3) between

• Reasoning: "Between" is used when something is in the middle of two items. Here, the book is between the bag and the pencil case.
• Common mistake: Students may confuse "between" with "beside" (next to one item).

10. (3) brush

• Reasoning: "I" takes the base form of the verb. "Twice a day" indicates a habitual action, so simple present tense is used. "I brush" is correct.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (2) "brushes" by incorrectly applying the third-person -s rule to "I."

Section B: Grammar Fill-in-the-Blank (20 marks)

11. ran [1]

• Reasoning: "Yesterday" signals past tense. The past tense of "run" is "ran" (irregular verb).
• Working: run → ran (irregular past tense)

12. likes [1]

• Reasoning: "My sister" is a singular third-person subject (she). In simple present tense, the verb takes -s: "likes." The context "to read storybooks before bedtime" indicates a habitual action.
• Working: like → likes (third-person singular + s)

13. were [1]

• Reasoning: "Five apples" is a plural subject, so the plural verb "were" is needed. "This morning" (past time) signals past tense.
• Working: five apples (plural) + past tense → were

14. will give [1]

• Reasoning: "Tomorrow" signals future tense. "Will give" is the correct simple future form.
• Working: give → will give (future tense with "will")

15. are hopping [1]

• Reasoning: "At the moment" signals present continuous tense. "The rabbits" is plural, so "are + verb-ing" is correct.
• Working: hop → are hopping (plural subject + present continuous)

16. under [1]

• Reasoning: Shoes placed below the bed are "under" the bed.

17. at [1]

• Reasoning: "At" is used with specific clock times. "At 7 o'clock" is the correct expression.

18. between [1]

• Reasoning: The park is located in the middle of two places (the school and the hospital), so "between" is correct.

19. into [1]

• Reasoning: "Into" indicates movement from outside to inside. The children jumped from outside the pool to inside it.

20. in [1]

• Reasoning: "In" is used with months. "In March" is the correct expression.

Section C: Grammar Editing & Sentence Construction (20 marks)

21. The dogs are barking loudly at the stranger. [2]

• Error: Subject-verb agreement — "dogs" (plural) should take "are," not "is."
• Correction: is → are
• Marking: Award 2 marks for the fully correct sentence. Award 1 mark if the subject-verb error is corrected but another error is introduced.

22. She goes to the market every Saturday morning. [2]

• Error: Subject-verb agreement — "She" (third-person singular) requires the verb to take -s in simple present tense.
• Correction: go → goes
• Marking: Award 2 marks for the fully correct sentence. Award 1 mark if the verb is corrected to "goes" but the rest of the sentence has an error.

23. There is a book on the shelf. [2]

• Error: Subject-verb agreement — "a book" is singular, so "is" should be used instead of "are."
• Correction: are → is
• Marking: Award 2 marks for the fully correct sentence. Award 1 mark if the verb is corrected but another error is introduced.

24. The children were playing in the rain yesterday. [2]

• Error: Subject-verb agreement — "children" (plural) requires "were," not "was."
• Correction: was → were
• Marking: Award 2 marks for the fully correct sentence. Award 1 mark if the verb is corrected but another error is introduced.

25. He has finished all his homework already. [2]

• Error: Subject-verb agreement — "He" (third-person singular) requires "has," not "have."
• Correction: have → has
• Marking: Award 2 marks for the fully correct sentence. Award 1 mark if the verb is corrected but another error is introduced.

26. The baby is sleeping peacefully. [2]

• Working: Subject (The baby) + verb (is sleeping) + adverb (peacefully). Present continuous tense. End with a full stop.
• Marking: Award 2 marks for correct word order, capitalisation, and punctuation. Award 1 mark if word order is correct but punctuation or capitalisation is missing.

27. We will have a party tomorrow. [2]

• Working: Subject (We) + future verb (will have) + object (a party) + time (tomorrow). End with a full stop.
• Marking: Award 2 marks for correct word order, capitalisation, and punctuation. Award 1 mark if word order is correct but punctuation or capitalisation is missing.

28. The cat chased the mouse quickly. [2]

• Working: Subject (The cat) + past tense verb (chased) + object (the mouse) + adverb (quickly). End with a full stop.
• Marking: Award 2 marks for correct word order, capitalisation, and punctuation. Award 1 mark if word order is correct but punctuation or capitalisation is missing.

29. The flowers are very beautiful. [2]

• Working: Subject (The flowers) + verb (are) + adverb (very) + adjective (beautiful). End with a full stop.
• Marking: Award 2 marks for correct word order, capitalisation, and punctuation. Award 1 mark if word order is correct but punctuation or capitalisation is missing.

30. I visited my grandmother yesterday. [2]

• Working: Subject (I) + past tense verb (visited) + object (my grandmother) + time (yesterday). End with a full stop.
• Marking: Award 2 marks for correct word order, capitalisation, and punctuation. Award 1 mark if word order is correct but punctuation or capitalisation is missing.

Mark Summary

Common Mistakes to Note

1. Subject-verb agreement with collective nouns and indefinite pronouns: Students often treat "everyone," "somebody," and "nobody" as plural. Remind them these are singular.
2. Irregular past tense verbs: "Run → ran" is commonly misspelled as "ranned." Drill irregular verb forms.
3. Prepositions of time: Students confuse "in," "on," and "at." Rule: "at" for clock times, "on" for days/dates, "in" for months/years/seasons.
4. Present continuous vs. simple present: Students often omit the "be" verb (is/am/are) when forming present continuous sentences.
5. Sentence construction: Students frequently forget capital letters at the beginning and full stops at the end of sentences. Always check punctuation.