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

TuitionGoWhere Practice Paper - English Language Primary 5

SA2 Practice Paper — Version 5 of 5: Answer Key

Section A: Grammar MCQ (10 marks)

1. Answer: (B) are

• Marking: 1 mark for (B).
• Reasoning: When using "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. "Dogs" is plural, so "are" is correct.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "is" because they match the verb to the first subject ("cat") instead of the nearest one.

2. Answer: (B) had arranged

• Marking: 1 mark for (B).
• Reasoning: The past perfect tense ("had arranged") is used for an action completed before another past action ("arrived"). The arranging happened before the arriving.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (D) "was arranging" (past continuous), but the context indicates the action was fully completed.

3. Answer: (C) were

• Marking: 1 mark for (C).
• Reasoning: This is a second conditional (unreal/hypothetical) sentence. In formal English, "were" is used for all subjects (including "I") in the "if" clause of second conditionals.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (B) "was," which is common in informal speech but not accepted in standard grammar tests.

4. Answer: (A) across

• Marking: 1 mark for (A).
• Reasoning: "Across" means from one side to the other side of a surface or area. The children moved from one side of the field to the other.
• Common mistake: Students may confuse "across" with "into" (D), which implies entering something.

5. Answer: (B) has

• Marking: 1 mark for (B).
• Reasoning: "Everyone" is an indefinite pronoun that takes a singular verb. "Has" is the singular form.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "have" because they associate "everyone" with multiple people.

6. Answer: (C) is

• Marking: 1 mark for (C).
• Reasoning: "News" is an uncountable noun and always takes a singular verb, despite ending in -s.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (B) "are" because "news" looks plural.

7. Answer: (A) more fluently

• Marking: 1 mark for (A).
• Reasoning: The comparative form of the adverb "fluently" is "more fluently" (adverbs with two or more syllables use "more" for the comparative). The word "than" signals a comparison.
• Common mistake: Students may invent (C) "fluentlier," which is not a word.

8. Answer: (B) which

• Marking: 1 mark for (B).
• Reasoning: "Which" is the relative pronoun used for things (the novel). "Who" and "whom" are for people; "whose" indicates possession.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "who" if they confuse the novel with its author.

9. Answer: (C) will announce

• Marking: 1 mark for (C).
• Reasoning: The word "tomorrow" indicates a future action, so the simple future tense ("will announce") is required.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "announces" (simple present for scheduled events), but "will announce" is more natural here.

10. Answer: (C) is

• Marking: 1 mark for (C).
• Reasoning: With "not only...but also," the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. "Teacher" is singular, so "is" is correct.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (B) "are" by matching the verb to "students" (the first subject).

Section B: Editing — Grammar and Spelling (10 marks)

11.

• Grammar correction: runned → ran (1 mark)
  • "Run" is an irregular verb; the past tense is "ran," not "runned."
• Spelling correction: becuase → because (1 mark)
  • Common spelling error; the correct order is b-e-c-a-u-s-e.

12.

• Grammar correction: have → has (1 mark)
  • "She" is a singular third-person subject, so the correct auxiliary verb is "has" (present perfect: has been studying).
• Spelling correction: studing → studying (1 mark)
  • When adding -ing to a word ending in a consonant after a single vowel, the final consonant is doubled: studying.

13.

• Grammar correction: start → started (1 mark)
  • The sentence is in the past tense ("was playing"), so "start" must also be in the past tense: "started."
• Spelling correction: was → were — Note: This is actually a grammar error, not spelling. The second error is the grammar error "was → were."
  • Correction: was → were (1 mark)
  • "Children" is plural, so the correct past tense of "be" is "were."

14.

• Grammar correction: know → knows (1 mark)
  • "Neither" is singular and takes a singular verb: "knows."
• Spelling correction: diffucult → difficult (1 mark)
  • The correct spelling has two f's and no u after the c: d-i-f-f-i-c-u-l-t.

15.

• Grammar correction: they're → their (1 mark)
  • "They're" is a contraction of "they are." The possessive form "their" is needed before "homework."
• Spelling correction: homework is spelled correctly. Note: The second error here is also a grammar error (homophone confusion). If a spelling error is required, accept identification of "they're → their" as the grammar correction and note that "homework" is correct.
  • Alternative: Accept any valid identification. Award 1 mark for identifying and correcting the homophone error.

Section C: Sentence Transformation (10 marks)

16. Sarah told Tom that she would help him with his project the next day / the following day. (2 marks)

• Marking: 1 mark for changing "will" → "would" and "you" → "him." 1 mark for changing "tomorrow" → "the next day / the following day."
• Reasoning: In reported speech, pronouns shift to reflect the speaker's perspective, "will" becomes "would," and time references shift.

17. Several houses in the village were destroyed by the storm. (2 marks)

• Marking: 1 mark for correct passive construction ("were destroyed"). 1 mark for including the agent ("by the storm").
• Reasoning: In passive voice, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject. The verb changes to "be" + past participle.

18. He is so short that he cannot reach the top shelf. (2 marks)

• Marking: 1 mark for "so short that." 1 mark for the correct clause "he cannot reach the top shelf."
• Reasoning: "Too...to" is equivalent to "so...that...cannot/can't."

19. After she finished her homework, she watched television. / She watched television after she finished her homework. (2 marks)

• Marking: 1 mark for using "after" correctly. 1 mark for maintaining the correct sequence of events and proper sentence structure.
• Reasoning: "After" indicates that the first action (finishing homework) happened before the second (watching television).

20. Mother asked me if/whether I had enjoyed the concert the night before / the previous night. (2 marks)

• Marking: 1 mark for changing the question to reported speech using "if/whether" and shifting the tense (past simple → past perfect). 1 mark for changing "last night" → "the night before / the previous night."
• Reasoning: Yes/no questions in reported speech use "if" or "whether." Tenses shift back one step.

Section D: Grammar Cloze Passage (10 marks)

21. went (1 mark)

• Simple past tense — the event happened last Saturday.

22. was (1 mark)

• Simple past tense describing the weather at that time.

23. was (1 mark)

• "Who" refers to "brother" (singular), so the singular past tense "was" is correct.

24. prepared / brought / had prepared / had brought (1 mark)

• Past tense verb describing what the mother did. "Prepared" or "brought" are the most natural choices.

25. were having / were eating / had (1 mark)

• Past continuous ("were having") indicates an ongoing action in the past, or simple past ("had") is also acceptable.

26. ran / walked / jogged (1 mark)

• Simple past tense describing the children's action.

27. was flying / flew (1 mark)

• Past continuous ("was flying") or simple past ("flew") — both are acceptable.

28. had (1 mark)

• Past perfect ("had never seen") — the father is referring to his experience before that moment in the past.

29. wanted / decided / needed (1 mark)

• Simple past tense — describing when they felt the need to leave.

30. was (1 mark)

• Simple past tense — summarising the day.

Section E: Comprehension — Grammar in Context (10 marks)

31. The verb tense used is the simple past tense ("was walking," "noticed"). (1 mark)

• Reasoning: The simple past tense is used because the passage narrates a sequence of completed events that happened at a specific time in the past ("one afternoon"). (1 mark)

32. The verb form is the past perfect tense ("had been"). (1 mark)

• Function: The past perfect is used to describe an action or state that was completed before another past action. Here, the puppy had been there for hours before Mei Ling noticed it. It shows the earlier of two past events. (1 mark)

33. The puppy was wrapped in her scarf (by her). (2 marks)

• Marking: 1 mark for "The puppy was wrapped." 1 mark for "in her scarf."
• Reasoning: The object ("the puppy") becomes the subject. The verb changes to "was" + past participle ("wrapped"). The agent ("by her") is optional.

34. Adjective form: temporary (1 mark)

• Meaning in context: It means "for a limited time / not permanently." Mei Ling's mother agreed to let her keep the puppy only until they found its owner. (1 mark)

35. If she had not found him that day, she would not have believed it was lucky. / If Mei Ling had not found Lucky that day, she would not have thought it was lucky. (2 marks)

• Marking: 1 mark for correct conditional structure (third conditional or mixed conditional). 1 mark for retaining the original meaning.
• Alternative acceptable answer: If she had not found him, she would not have considered it lucky.

Section F: Vocabulary and Word Forms (10 marks)

36. discovery (2 marks)

• Reasoning: The sentence requires a noun (after the possessive "scientist's"). The noun form of "discover" is "discovery."
• Common mistake: Students may write "discovering" (gerund) or "discovered" (past tense).

37. Answer: (B) angry (2 marks)

• Reasoning: "Furious" means extremely angry. "Delighted" means very happy (opposite meaning). "Confused" and "amused" do not match the intensity or meaning.

38. on (2 marks)

• Reasoning: The correct collocation is "depends on." This is a fixed prepositional phrase.

39. irresponsible (2 marks)

• Reasoning: The prefix "ir-" (meaning "not") is added to "responsible" to form "irresponsible," meaning not responsible. The context ("embarrassed everyone") indicates a negative meaning is needed.
• Common mistake: Students may write "unresponsible," which is not a standard English word.

40. Answer: (C) impose (2 marks)

• Reasoning: The correct collocation is "impose a rule." "Make a rule" is possible but less formal; "do a rule" and "take a rule" are incorrect collocations.
• Common mistake: Students may choose (A) "make" because it is a more common verb, but "impose" is the standard collocation with "rule" in formal contexts.

Mark Summary