Primary 6 PSLE English Semestral Assessment 1 (Mid-Year) Paper 1

Answer Key and Marking Scheme

Paper: TuitionGoWhere Practice Paper - English Primary 6 PSLE (Grammar) Version: 1 of 5 Total Marks: 50

Section A: Grammar Multiple-Choice Questions (10 × 1 mark = 10 marks)

1. (1) was

• Marks: 1
• Explanation: The subject of the sentence is "The team". "Team" is a collective noun and is treated as a single unit here, so it takes a singular verb. The phrase "along with their coach" is extra information and does not change the number of the subject. Therefore, the singular past tense verb "was" is correct.
• Common Mistake: Choosing "were" because "coach" is close to the verb. Remember to identify the main subject.

2. (2) had locked

• Marks: 1
• Explanation: The action of locking the keys happened before another past action ("left the house"). To show that one past event happened before another past event, we use the past perfect tense ("had + past participle").
• Common Mistake: Choosing "have locked" (present perfect) which is used for actions connecting to the present, not for a sequence of past events.

3. (3) was

• Marks: 1
• Explanation: With the correlative conjunction "Neither...nor...", the verb agrees with the subject that is closer to it. The closer subject is "their form teacher", which is singular. Therefore, the singular verb "was" is correct.
• Common Mistake: Choosing "were" because "students" is plural. Remember the "nearest noun" rule for "either/or" and "neither/nor".

4. (1) that

• Marks: 1
• Explanation: This sentence uses the structure "so + adjective/adverb + that + clause" to show a result. "So skilfully that the audience gasped" means the skill was so great that it caused the audience to gasp.
• Common Mistake: Choosing "so" alone. The structure requires "that" to introduce the result clause.

5. (2) Despite

• Marks: 1
• Explanation: "Despite" is a preposition and is followed by a noun phrase ("the heavy rain"). It shows contrast, meaning "in spite of". "Although" and "Even though" are conjunctions and must be followed by a clause (e.g., "Although it rained heavily...").
• Common Mistake: Choosing "Although" or "Even though" without recognising they need a full clause after them.

6. (3) which

• Marks: 1
• Explanation: The relative pronoun "which" is used to refer to things or animals. The antecedent is "The old mansion" (a thing). "Who" and "whom" are for people. "Whose" shows possession.
• Common Mistake: Confusing "which" and "who". Remember "which" is for things, "who" is for people.

7. (3) were

• Marks: 1
• Explanation: This is a second conditional sentence (imaginary or unlikely situation). In the "if" clause, we use the past subjunctive form of "to be", which is "were" for all subjects (I, he, she, it).
• Common Mistake: Choosing "was". While commonly used in speech, "were" is the correct formal and exam-standard form for the subjunctive mood.

8. (2) must not

• Marks: 1
• Explanation: "Must not" expresses a strong prohibition or rule. The sentence implies a firm rule that the children are not allowed to play near the road. "Could not" suggests inability, and "should not" is a suggestion, not a strict rule.
• Common Mistake: Choosing "should not" as it is a softer form. The context of a rule about a busy road suggests a stronger prohibition.

9. (3) had spread

• Marks: 1
• Explanation: The fire spreading through the roof happened before the firefighters arrived (another past action). This requires the past perfect tense ("had + past participle") to show the earlier of two past events.
• Common Mistake: Choosing "was spreading" (past continuous) which describes an ongoing action, not one that was completed before another.

10. (2) did they win

• Marks: 1
• Explanation: When a sentence begins with a negative or restrictive expression like "Not only", we use inversion. This means the auxiliary verb comes before the subject. The sentence is in the past tense, so we use "did" + subject + base verb ("win").
• Common Mistake: Choosing "they won" without inversion. Inversion is mandatory after "Not only" at the beginning of a sentence.

Section B: Grammar Cloze Passage (5 × 2 marks = 10 marks)

11. (2) which

• Marks: 2
• Explanation: The relative pronoun refers to "The puppy" (an animal). "Which" is the correct relative pronoun for animals and things. The clause "which was trembling in her hands" provides extra information about the puppy.
• Common Mistake: Choosing "who" which is for people. While pets can be given human qualities, standard grammar uses "which" for animals.

12. (1) where

• Marks: 2
• Explanation: The mother is asking about the place Sarah found the puppy. "Where" is the correct question word to ask about location.
• Common Mistake: Choosing "what" or "when". "What" asks for a thing, and "when" asks for a time. The context clearly asks for a place.

13. (2) because

• Marks: 2
• Explanation: The family was overjoyed for the reason that they were reunited. "Because" introduces a reason or cause.
• Common Mistake: Choosing "although" which shows contrast. The sentence shows a cause-and-effect relationship, not a contrasting one.

14. (1) as soon as

• Marks: 2
• Explanation: "As soon as" means "immediately when". The puppy wagged its tail at the exact moment it saw its owners. This shows a time relationship.
• Common Mistake: Choosing "so that" which shows purpose. The puppy did not wag its tail in order to see its owners; it wagged its tail when it saw them.

15. (3) had helped

• Marks: 2
• Explanation: The main verb "felt" is in the past tense. The action of "helping" happened before she felt happy. To show an action that was completed before another past action, we use the past perfect tense ("had + past participle").
• Common Mistake: Choosing "has helped" (present perfect) which does not agree with the past tense of the main verb.

Section C: Synthesis and Transformation (5 × 6 marks = 30 marks)

Marking Notes for Section C:

• Award marks for a grammatically correct sentence that retains the original meaning.
• Deduct marks for minor errors (e.g., spelling, punctuation) or if the sentence is awkward but understandable.
• Award zero marks if the sentence does not use the given word or changes the meaning.

16. Although the students were tired, they continued to revise for their examinations.

• Marks: 6
• Explanation: "Although" is a subordinating conjunction used to show contrast. It introduces a dependent clause. The structure is: "Although + clause, + main clause." The meaning is retained: they were tired (contrast) but they still revised.
• Marking: 1 mark for correct use of "although", 1 mark for correct punctuation (comma), 2 marks for accurate grammar, 2 marks for retaining the original meaning.

17. Ben said that he would finish the project by Friday.

• Marks: 6
• Explanation: This is a reported speech transformation. The direct quote "I will finish..." becomes "he would finish...". The pronoun "I" changes to "he" to match Ben. The tense of "will" changes to "would" in reported speech. The word "that" is used to introduce the reported clause.
• Marking: 1 mark for correct pronoun change ("I" to "he"), 1 mark for correct tense change ("will" to "would"), 1 mark for correct use of "that", 3 marks for overall grammatical accuracy and retaining meaning.

18. The hall was so small that it could not accommodate all the guests.

• Marks: 6
• Explanation: The structure "too + adjective + to-infinitive" can be transformed into "so + adjective + that + clause". The clause must express the negative result. "Too small to accommodate" means "so small that it could not accommodate".
• Marking: 1 mark for correct "so...that" structure, 1 mark for correct negative form in the result clause, 2 marks for accurate grammar, 2 marks for retaining the original meaning.

19. By the time the firefighters arrived, the fire had spread quickly.

• Marks: 6
• Explanation: "By the time" is used to connect two past events. The event that happened first (the fire spreading) is in the past perfect tense ("had spread"). The event that happened second (the firefighters arriving) is in the simple past tense ("arrived").
• Marking: 1 mark for correct use of "by the time", 1 mark for correct past perfect tense ("had spread"), 1 mark for correct simple past tense ("arrived"), 3 marks for overall grammatical accuracy and retaining meaning.

20. Only after the children had finished their chores were they allowed to play outside.

• Marks: 6
• Explanation: "Only after" at the beginning of a sentence requires inversion. The structure is: "Only after + clause, + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb." The first action (finishing chores) is in the past perfect ("had finished"). The second action (being allowed to play) uses inversion ("were they allowed").
• Marking: 1 mark for correct use of "only after", 1 mark for correct past perfect tense in the first clause, 2 marks for correct inversion in the main clause ("were they allowed"), 2 marks for overall grammatical accuracy and retaining meaning.
• Common Mistake: Forgetting the inversion. Writing "they were allowed" instead of "were they allowed" is a common error.

END OF ANSWER KEY