Primary 6 PSLE English Practice Paper 3

TuitionGoWhere Practice Paper - English Primary 6 PSLE

TuitionGoWhere Practice Paper (AI)

Answer Key and Marking Scheme — Grammar Practice Paper (Version 3 of 5)

Total Marks: 30

Section A: Grammar Multiple-Choice (Questions 1–5)

1. Answer: (B) was [1]

• Concept: With "neither ... nor", the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it. Here the nearer subject is "their coach" (singular), so the singular verb "was" is correct.
• Why others fail: (A), (C), (D) are plural forms, chosen wrongly by matching the farther subject "players".
• Common mistake: Matching the verb to the first noun instead of the nearest one.

2. Answer: (B) had ... stopped [1]

• Concept: Past perfect ("had + past participle") shows an action completed before another past action. The storm stopped before the rangers arrived.
• Why others fail: (A) and (D) are present forms; (C) "would ... stopped" is not a valid verb form.
• Signal phrase: "By the time ..." often introduces the later past event, so the earlier event takes the past perfect.

3. Answer: (B) did not live [1]

• Concept: Second conditional — an unreal present situation uses "if + past simple, would + base verb". The main clause already has "would cycle", so the "if" clause needs the past simple.
• Why others fail: (A), (C), (D) break the conditional pattern; (A) would pair with "will cycle", not "would".
• Common mistake: Choosing present tense after "if" because the meaning refers to now.

4. Answer: (B) must [1]

• Concept: "Must" expresses a confident deduction based on evidence (a long afternoon of physical work logically causes hunger).
• Why others fail: (A) "can" shows ability/possibility, not deduction; (C) "shall" is for offers/future; (D) "need" does not fit before "be" here.

5. Answer: (A) won ... are [1]

• Concept: Double agreement. First blank: the medals were won at a finished event → simple past "won". Second blank: the true subject is "The medals" (plural), not the nearby singular "championship", so the plural verb "are" is needed.
• Why others fail: (B) and (D) mismatch number; (C) "has won" wrongly makes the plural team take a singular verb.
• Method: Cross out the relative clause ("that the badminton team won at the regional championship") to find the real subject of the second verb.

Section B: Grammar Cloze (Questions 6–10)

6. by [1]

• Concept: The passive construction "organised ______ the community club" needs the agent preposition "by". Ask: who did the organising? The answer follows "by".

7. because / since / as (accept any one logical reason connector) [1]

• Concept: The second clause gives the reason nobody grumbled. Cause-effect connectors link the two ideas.
• Common mistake: Using "but" or "so", which signal contrast or result, not reason.

8. into [1]

• Concept: Fixed pattern "split/divide/divided + object + into + groups" describes separating a whole into parts.

9. of [1]

• Concept: Quantity expression "forty kilograms of litter" — "of" links a measure to the thing measured.

10. for [1]

• Concept: Fixed pattern "thank/praise someone for something" — "for" introduces the reason for thanks.

Section C: Error Identification and Correction (Questions 11–15)

Each question: 1 mark for a grammatically correct replacement; the error location is already bolded, so award the second mark only if the replacement truly fixes the error type shown.

11. Correction: was [2]

• Method: The head noun of the subject is "list", not "contestants". "The list of contestants" is one single thing → singular verb "was".
• Rule: Phrases starting with "of" between subject and verb can be ignored when checking agreement.

12. Correction: told [2]

• Method: "Whenever I stayed" sets the whole sentence in the past. Both verbs describing repeated past habits must match: "stayed" ... "told".
• Common mistake: Letting a habitual meaning trick you into present tense; habit in the past still uses past simple.

13. Correction: me [2]

• Concept: "Between" is a preposition, and prepositions take object pronouns: "between you and me".
• Memory aid: Remove "you and": you would never say "between I", so "me" is correct.

14. Correction: remarkably [2]

• Concept: The word modifies "well" (an adverb), so an adverb is required. Adverbs of manner usually end in "-ly".
• Test: Ask "performed how well?" → remarkably well.

15. Correction: has [2]

• Method: "Every one" is always singular, even when followed by "of the chilli plants". Ignore the plural noun after "of": "Every one ... has been treated".
• Common mistake: Agreeing the verb with the nearby plural "plants" instead of the singular "every one".

Section D: Synthesis and Transformation (Questions 16–20)

Marking for each: 1 mark for the required structure/connector used correctly; 1 mark for accurate grammar (tenses, pronouns, word forms) with the original meaning preserved. Deduct the second mark if meaning changes or new grammar errors appear.

16. Model: Although it was raining heavily throughout the morning, the scouts carried on pitching their tents. [2]

• Step 1: Place "Although" before the contrast idea (the rain).
• Step 2: Follow with a full clause (subject + verb): "it was raining..."
• Step 3: Put the main clause after a comma.
• Mark breakdown: Structure with comma = 1; correct past continuous/simple verbs retained = 1.
• Common mistake: Writing "Although it was raining heavily, but the scouts..." — never pair "although" with "but".

17. Model: Priya told Dev that she would lend him her rollerblades the following/the next day. [2]

• Step 1: Reporting verb "said to" becomes "told"; add "that".
• Step 2: Pronoun shifts: "I" → she; "you" → him; "my" → her.
• Step 3: Tense shifts back: "will" → would.
• Step 4: Time word shifts: "tomorrow" → the following day / the next day.
• Mark breakdown: Correct pronouns and "would" = 1; correct time-word change = 1.

18. Model: All the cracked window panes had been replaced by the caretaker before the pupils returned to school. [2]

• Step 1: Move the object ("all the cracked window panes") to the front.
• Step 2: Build passive of past perfect: had + been + past participle → "had been replaced".
• Step 3: Add "by the caretaker"; keep the rest of the sentence unchanged.
• Mark breakdown: Correct passive form "had been replaced" = 1; agent phrase and remaining clause intact = 1.
• Common mistake: Dropping the second "had" or writing "had being replaced".

19. Model: Despite failing his swimming proficiency test twice, Reuben remained determined to qualify for the lifeguard course. [2]

• Step 1: "Despite" must be followed by a noun or gerund, never a full clause.
• Step 2: Convert "he failed" to the gerund "failing" and attach the possessive "his".
• Step 3: Keep the main clause after the comma.
• Mark breakdown: Gerund after "Despite" = 1; correct pronoun and retained meaning = 1.
• Common mistake: Writing "Despite he failed..." — a clause cannot follow "despite".

20. Model: Unless you hand in the indemnity form by Thursday, you cannot board the bus for the science centre trip. [2]

• Step 1: "Unless" means "if ... not", so it replaces "Otherwise" by joining the condition to the negative result.
• Step 2: Do not add another "not" in the unless-clause ("Unless you do not hand in..." would reverse the meaning).
• Step 3: Keep the modal "cannot" in the main clause.
• Mark breakdown: Correct "unless + positive clause" structure = 1; main clause with "cannot" and deadline kept = 1.
• Common mistake: Double negation after "unless", which flips the intended meaning.

Mark Summary

Visual dependency note: This paper contains no image-dependent questions; all items are fully answerable from text alone.