The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is a pivotal milestone in a student’s academic journey, especially in Singapore, where English is one of the key subjects tested. Some of the questions in the PSLE English paper are notoriously tricky, leaving students grappling with grammar, comprehension skills, and a nuanced understanding of the English language. In this article, we will walk through five of the hardest questions from the 2023 PSLE English exam, offering detailed explanations and tips for solving each.
Common Misconception:
Students often get confused by subject-verb agreement. In this question, students might be misled by the word “books,” assuming it refers to a plural subject, which leads them to choose the incorrect answer.
Analysis:
The sentence is, “I believe that reading different types of books helps me improve my vocabulary.” While “books” is plural, the subject of the sentence is not the noun “books” but rather the phrase “reading different types of books,” which refers to a single action. The verb must therefore agree with this singular subject.
Correct Answer:
The correct answer should be “helps”, not “help”. Understanding this concept is key for handling similar PSLE English grammar questions.
Question 2: Grammar MCQ - Tense & Subject-Verb Agreement
Common Misconception:
Another challenge students face is tense confusion, especially with phrases indicating time, like “now” and “up to now.” Many students misinterpret these cues, leading to tense errors.
Analysis:
The sentence presented is, “The hotel guests are facing much inconvenience as all their luggage has been missing up to now.” Many students may incorrectly choose present tense verbs like “is” or “are” because they focus on the word “now.”
However, the correct answer requires present perfect tense, as the phrase “up to now” implies that the action started in the past and continues in the present.
Correct Answer:
The correct form of the verb is “has been” to reflect the uncountable noun “luggage” and the present perfect tense.
Question 3: Synthesis & Transformation - Change in Word Class
Common Misconception:
Students often struggle with synthesis and transformation when it requires them to change the word class. In this case, many students confuse the noun form of the verb “advise.”
Analysis:
The question required students to change the sentence, “If Mr Ahmad had not advised us, we would have submitted the project late.” into a sentence starting with “Without.” A common mistake is to change “advised” into “advise,” which is incorrect.
Correct Answer:
The correct noun form of “advise” is “advice.” Therefore, the answer should be, “Without Mr Ahmad’s advice, we would have submitted the project late.” The key here is knowing the difference between verb forms and their noun counterparts.
Question 4: Synthesis & Transformation - Reported Speech
Common Mistake:
Reported speech is another area that often trips students up. In this question, students were asked to transform direct speech into reported speech, which requires a switch in the word order.
Analysis:
The direct speech was, “‘What are your plans after school?’ Mrs Sim asked her students.” In reported speech, the subject and verb must change places. Many students incorrectly wrote, “Mrs Sim asked her students what were their plans after school,” which is wrong because the verb should follow the subject.
Correct Answer:
The correct sentence is, “Mrs. Sim asked her students what their plans after school were.” Students need to carefully consider the word order when answering synthesis and transformation questions involving reported speech.
Question 5: Comprehension Open-ended - Inference Question
Common Struggle:
The comprehension section of the PSLE is where students face their greatest challenges, particularly with inference questions. Unlike factual questions, inference questions require students to read between the lines and derive meaning from the text.
Analysis:
The first step is identifying what “Aunt Lily’s words of wisdom” were (bear in mind that students have to be able to sieve this out, on their own, from the entire passage, not just the extract presented here).
Words of wisdom: “When you love your work, your customers will love your work just as much.”
Next, students have to understand how this advice had an impact on the writer in her job.
Impact: “I am now a nurse working in a hospital. Each time the patients thank me for taking good care of them, I know Aunt Lily’s words of wisdom have served me well.”
The last and hardest step is explaining and drawing the link between the advice and its impact.
Correct Answer:
Aunt Lily believed that when you are passionate about your work, customers will love the product created just as much. Following her words of wisdom, the writer learnt to love her work as a nurse in a hospital, which resulted in the writer’s patients appreciating how she took good care of them.
How to Improve PSLE English Skills
Now that we’ve reviewed the toughest questions, how can students improve their skills to tackle similar challenges in future exams?
1. Practice with PSLE Grammar Questions
Consistent practice with PSLE English grammar questions will help students better understand the rules of subject-verb agreement, tense usage, and word class transformation. Many common errors can be avoided with more exposure to different sentence structures and careful analysis of subjects and verbs.
2. Develop Comprehension Skills with Reading for Primary Students
To improve comprehension skills, students should focus on reading for primary students at their appropriate reading level. Reading a variety of materials—such as fiction books and primary 1 reading exercises—will help build their ability to infer meaning from context. Reading comprehension is essential not just for PSLE but for lifelong learning.
3. Engage in Reading Activities for Younger Children
For younger students, engaging in primary 1 reading activities and reading aloud can significantly improve their reading skills. Parents can read to their children regularly to help them understand sentence structures and story flow. As children develop these foundational skills, they become more adept at answering comprehension questions that require inference and critical thinking.
4. Nurture a Love for Reading and Learning
Reading skills go beyond exam preparation; they are integral to academic success. Older children who love reading will find the PSLE English paper less daunting. To encourage this love for reading, introduce a variety of fiction books that are interesting and appropriate for the child’s reading level.
Incorporating these strategies into a student’s daily routine will gradually enhance their ability to handle the toughest PSLE English questions with confidence.
The 2023 PSLE English exam presented some challenging questions, particularly in areas like subject-verb agreement, tense usage, and inference-based comprehension. By reviewing these difficult questions and understanding their solutions, students can better prepare for future exams. Through consistent practice with PSLE English grammar questions and improving reading comprehension skills, students will be better equipped to excel in their PSLE English exams.
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