Primary 5 English Semestral Assessment 2 (End of Year) Paper 4

TuitionGoWhere Practice Paper - English Language Primary 5

SA2 Practice — Version 4 of 5: Answer Key

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Section A: Grammar MCQ (10 marks)

1. Answer: B (flies)

• Reasoning: "The flock of birds" has the head noun "flock," which is a collective noun treated as singular in this context. The simple present tense requires the third-person singular form "flies."
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "fly" because they associate "birds" (plural) with the verb, but the subject is "flock," not "birds."

2. Answer: B (are)

• Reasoning: With "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. "Students" (plural) is closer to the verb, so the plural form "are" is correct.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "is" if they apply the rule incorrectly or default to singular.

3. Answer: B (had)

• Reasoning: The past perfect tense ("had started") is used to show that one past action was completed before another past action ("arrived").
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "has" (present perfect) if they do not recognise the sequence of past events.

4. Answer: C (were)

• Reasoning: This is a second conditional (unreal/hypothetical situation). In formal grammar, "were" is used for all persons in the "if" clause, including "I."
• Common mistake: Students may choose (B) "was" because it feels natural in informal speech, but "were" is the standard tested form.

5. Answer: B (was submitted)

• Reasoning: The sentence requires the passive voice in the simple past tense ("was submitted") because the report received the action, and the time marker "last Friday" indicates past tense.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "is submitted" if they overlook the past time marker.

6. Answer: C (was doing)

• Reasoning: The past continuous ("was doing") describes an ongoing action that was interrupted by another event ("the lights went out").
• Common mistake: Students may choose (B) "did" (simple past) if they do not recognise the interrupted-action pattern.

7. Answer: B (needs)

• Reasoning: "Everyone" is an indefinite pronoun that takes a singular verb. "Needs" is the third-person singular form.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "need" because "everyone" refers to multiple people, but grammatically it is singular.

8. Answer: B (into)

• Reasoning: "Into" indicates movement toward the inside of a place. The children ran from outside to inside the playground.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "at" if they confuse direction with location.

9. Answer: B (for)

• Reasoning: "For" is used with a duration of time (twenty minutes). "Since" is used with a specific starting point in time.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "since" if they confuse the usage rules for "for" and "since."

10. Answer: B (carefully)

• Reasoning: An adverb is needed to modify the verb "explained." "Carefully" is the adverb form of "careful."
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "careful" (adjective) if they do not recognise that a verb requires an adverb modifier.

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Section B: Grammar Cloze (10 marks)

11. went

• Simple past tense is needed because the narrative describes a completed past event ("Last Saturday").

12. had been / were

• "Had been" (past perfect) emphasises duration up to a point in the past; "were" (simple past) is also acceptable. Accept either. [Award 1 mark for either.]

13. than

• The comparative structure "much larger than" requires "than."

14. including

• "Including" introduces examples of the exhibits.

15. as / while / when

• Any conjunction indicating simultaneous action is acceptable. "As" or "while" are the most natural fits. [Award 1 mark for any suitable conjunction.]

16. have

• Present perfect ("have ever seen") is used with superlatives to describe a life experience up to the present moment.

17. have / should have / could have

• After "suggested that," the subjunctive or base form is used. "Have" (base form) is the most direct answer. [Award 1 mark for "have" or "should have."]

18. After

• "After" indicates the sequence of events — first they finished eating, then they visited the gift shop.

19. that / which

• A relative pronoun is needed to introduce the relative clause describing the telescope. Both "that" and "which" are acceptable.

20. could

• "I wish + could" expresses a desire for something in the future that is uncertain or unlikely.

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Section C: Editing (10 marks)

21.

• Mistake: were
• Correction: was
• Explanation: "The group" is a collective noun and takes a singular verb. "Were" should be "was."

22.

• Mistake: went
• Correction: gone
• Explanation: The present perfect tense requires the past participle. "Go" → past participle is "gone," not "went" (which is simple past).

23.

• Mistake: have
• Correction: has
• Explanation: "Neither" is singular and takes a singular verb. "Have" should be "has."

24.

• Mistake: happy
• Correction: happily
• Explanation: An adverb is needed to modify the verb "played." "Happy" (adjective) should be "happily" (adverb).

25.

• Mistake: for
• Correction: to
• Explanation: The verb "gave" takes the preposition "to" when indicating the recipient. "Gave the book to his friend" is correct.

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Section D: Sentence Transformation (10 marks)

26. Jane said that she would finish the project by the next day / the following day.

• Marking: [2 marks] — 1 mark for correct pronoun change ("I" → "she") and tense shift ("will" → "would"); 1 mark for correct time reference change ("tomorrow" → "the next day / the following day").
• Common mistake: Forgetting to change "tomorrow" to "the next day."

27. Several houses in the village were damaged by the storm.

• Marking: [2 marks] — 1 mark for correct passive construction ("were damaged"); 1 mark for correct agent ("by the storm") and sentence completeness.
• Common mistake: Using "was damaged" (singular) instead of "were damaged" (plural subject "houses").

28. He is not old enough to join the competition.

• Marking: [2 marks] — 1 mark for "not old enough"; 1 mark for correct sentence structure and preserved meaning.
• Common mistake: Writing "not enough old" (incorrect word order).

29. My mother asked me where I had put her keys.

• Marking: [2 marks] — 1 mark for correct word order (subject before verb in reported speech: "I had put" not "did I put"); 1 mark for correct tense shift ("did put" → "had put") and pronoun change ("my" → "her").
• Common mistake: Keeping question word order ("where did I put") instead of statement word order.

30. Despite the heavy rain, they continued the football match.

• Alternative acceptable answer: Despite it raining heavily, they continued the football match.
• Marking: [2 marks] — 1 mark for correct use of "Despite" + noun phrase/gerund clause; 1 mark for preserved meaning and sentence completeness.
• Common mistake: Writing "Despite of" (incorrect — "despite" does not take "of") or "Despite it was raining" (should be noun form, not clause with finite verb).

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Section E: Word Forms (10 marks)

31. skill / skilfulness

• "Skill" (noun) fits naturally: "with great skill." "Skilfulness" is also acceptable. [Award 2 marks for either.]

32. dangerous

• An adjective is needed after "is very" to describe the action. "Danger" (noun) → "dangerous" (adjective).

33. enthusiasm

• A noun is needed after "great" (adjective). "Enthusiastic" (adjective) → "enthusiasm" (noun).

34. explanation

• A noun is needed as the subject of the sentence. "Explain" (verb) → "explanation" (noun).

35. confidently

• An adverb is needed to modify the verb "spoke." "Confident" (adjective) → "confidently" (adverb).

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Section F: Comprehension Cloze (10 marks)

36. because / as / since

• A conjunction of reason is needed to explain why the writer woke up early. Any suitable reason conjunction is acceptable. [Award 2 marks for any of these.]

37. for

• "Perfect for" is the correct collocation — "for" indicates purpose/suitability.

38. for

• "For" is used with a duration of time ("for weeks").

39. as

• The structure "as fast as I could" requires "as...as" for comparison.

40. on / upon

• "Improved on" or "improved upon" is the correct phrasal verb meaning "done better than." [Award 2 marks for either.]

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Marking Summary

Section	Topic	Marks
A	Grammar MCQ	10
B	Grammar Cloze	10
C	Editing	10
D	Sentence Transformation	10
E	Word Forms	10
F	Comprehension Cloze	10
Total		50

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Common Mistakes to Watch For

1. Subject-verb agreement with collective nouns — Students often match the verb to the nearest noun rather than the true subject (e.g., "flock" is singular even though "birds" is plural).
2. Tense sequencing — Past perfect is frequently omitted or confused with present perfect when describing two past events.
3. Preposition collocations — "Gave...to" vs. "gave...for"; "for" vs. "since" with time expressions.
4. Reported speech word order — Students must switch from question order to statement order in reported questions.
5. Adjective vs. adverb confusion — Students often use adjectives where adverbs are required to modify verbs.