Primary 5 English Grammar Tenses Quiz

Primary 5 English Quiz - Grammar Tenses: Answer Key

Total Marks: 20

Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions (Questions 1 - 10)

1 mark each.

1. Answer: (B) brushes

• Explanation: The sentence uses the adverb "Every morning," which indicates a habitual action. For habitual actions, we use the simple present tense. The subject "Sarah" is singular (third person), so the verb must take an '-s' or '-es' ending. "Brush" becomes "brushes."
• Marking: 1 mark for (B).

2. Answer: (C) are playing

• Explanation: The phrase "right now" indicates an action happening at the moment of speaking. This requires the present continuous tense (am/is/are + verb-ing). The subject "The children" is plural, so we use "are playing."
• Marking: 1 mark for (C).

3. Answer: (D) watched

• Explanation: The phrase "Last night" is a specific time in the past. For actions completed at a specific time in the past, we use the simple past tense. The past tense of "watch" is "watched."
• Marking: 1 mark for (D).

4. Answer: (B) are going

• Explanation: The question asks about "plans for the weekend." The present continuous tense (am/is/are + verb-ing) is commonly used to talk about future plans and arrangements. The subject "We" is plural, so we use "are going."
• Marking: 1 mark for (B).

5. Answer: (C) has lived

• Explanation: The sentence uses "since she was a young woman," which indicates a period of time that started in the past and continues to the present. This requires the present perfect tense (has/have + past participle). The subject "My grandmother" is singular, so we use "has lived."
• Marking: 1 mark for (C).

6. Answer: (D) had left

• Explanation: The sentence describes two past actions. The bus leaving happened before we reached the bus stop. To show that one past action happened before another past action, we use the past perfect tense (had + past participle) for the earlier action. The past tense of "leave" is "left," so the past perfect is "had left."
• Marking: 1 mark for (D).

7. Answer: (C) is going to rain

• Explanation: The sentence provides evidence ("Look at the dark clouds!") that a future event is very likely. "Going to" is used to make predictions based on present evidence. "Is going to rain" is the correct form.
• Marking: 1 mark for (C).

8. Answer: (D) had finished

• Explanation: Similar to question 6, this sentence describes two past actions. Finishing homework happened before going out to play. The past perfect tense (had + past participle) is used for the earlier action. The past participle of "finish" is "finished," so the past perfect is "had finished."
• Marking: 1 mark for (D).

9. Answer: (C) was starting

• Explanation: The sentence describes an action that was in progress (the teacher starting the lesson) when another action interrupted it (the fire alarm rang). This requires the past continuous tense (was/were + verb-ing) for the longer, ongoing action. The subject "The teacher" is singular, so we use "was starting."
• Marking: 1 mark for (C).

10. Answer: (C) will have been

• Explanation: The phrase "By the end of this year" refers to a point in the future. The action of being in the school will be completed by that future point. This requires the future perfect tense (will have + past participle). The past participle of "be" is "been," so the correct answer is "will have been."
• Marking: 1 mark for (C).

Section B: Fill in the Blanks (Questions 11 - 15)

1 mark each.

11. Answer: sleeps

• Explanation: The adverb "usually" indicates a habitual action, requiring the simple present tense. The subject "The cat" is singular, so the verb is "sleeps."
• Marking: 1 mark for "sleeps".

12. Answer: is singing

• Explanation: The word "Listen!" indicates an action happening at the moment of speaking, requiring the present continuous tense. The subject "Someone" is singular, so we use "is singing."
• Marking: 1 mark for "is singing".

13. Answer: visited

• Explanation: The phrase "last weekend" indicates a specific time in the past, requiring the simple past tense. The past tense of "visit" is "visited."
• Marking: 1 mark for "visited".

14. Answer: has not finished / hasn't finished

• Explanation: The word "yet" is often used with the present perfect tense to indicate an action that hasn't happened up to the present moment. The subject "She" is singular, so we use "has not finished" or the contraction "hasn't finished."
• Marking: 1 mark for "has not finished" or "hasn't finished".

15. Answer: are building

• Explanation: The phrase "at the moment" indicates an action happening now, requiring the present continuous tense. The subject "They" is plural, so we use "are building."
• Marking: 1 mark for "are building".

Section C: Sentence Transformation (Questions 16 - 20)

1 mark each.

16. Answer: By the time we arrived at the cinema, the movie had started.

• Explanation: The original sentence shows that the movie started first, and then we arrived. "By the time" is used to connect these two past events. The event that happened first (the movie starting) must be in the past perfect tense ("had started"). The event that happened later (our arrival) is in the simple past tense ("arrived").
• Marking: 1 mark for correct use of "by the time" and correct tense sequence (past perfect for the earlier action, simple past for the later action).

17. Answer: I have been learning the piano for two years.

• Explanation: The original sentence describes an action that started in the past and continues to the present. The present perfect continuous tense (has/have + been + verb-ing) is ideal for this. "For" is used to indicate a duration of time ("two years").
• Marking: 1 mark for correct use of present perfect continuous tense and the preposition "for".

18. Answer: Tom said that he would help me with my project.

• Explanation: In reported speech, the tense usually shifts back one step. "Will" becomes "would." The pronoun "I" changes to "he" to match the speaker (Tom). The pronoun "your" changes to "my" to match the person being spoken to.
• Marking: 1 mark for correct tense change ("will" to "would") and correct pronoun changes ("I" to "he", "your" to "my").

19. Answer: The classroom is being cleaned by the students now.

• Explanation: To change from active to passive voice, the object of the active sentence ("the classroom") becomes the subject of the passive sentence. The verb changes to a form of "be" + past participle. Since the active sentence is in the present continuous tense ("are cleaning"), the passive sentence uses "is being cleaned" (singular subject "classroom"). The subject of the active sentence ("the students") becomes the agent in the passive sentence, introduced by "by."
• Marking: 1 mark for correct passive structure ("is being cleaned") and correct agent ("by the students").

20. Answer: It might rain later.

• Explanation: "It is possible that" expresses possibility. The modal verb "might" is used to express possibility. The main verb "rain" stays in its base form after "might."
• Marking: 1 mark for correct use of "might" with the base form of the verb "rain".