Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 1 How to study grammar

2 WORDS AND WORD CLASSES

Identify the word class of the underlined words in the text below, according to
one of the following: noun, adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition,
determiner or pronoun.

Then explain how you identified the word class of the words by referring to
pages 6–8 which have more on word classes.

The first one has been done for you.

Jingyan stood (1) before the glass window and looked (2) nervously into
the room. The room was crowded with girls in their (3) ballet tutus. Jingyan
could not decide (4) whether to attend the dance recital audition. She then
saw the same (5) friendly face (6) that she had seen earlier (7) that day.
The girl turned around and her (8) smiling eyes locked with Jingyan’s. The
girl waved at Jingyan and gestured (9) her to come into the room. In that
moment, Jingyan decided to audition for the dance recital. She had just
needed that little bit of encouragement to overcome (10) her nerves.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Word class Explanation

1 preposition ‘before’ is a preposition as it tells us about the
relationship between an action ‘stood’ and a place
‘the glass window’. Prepositions usually appear
before noun phrases (e.g. ‘the glass window’ here).

10

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 2 Describing people and things

5 DIFFERENT TYPES OF NOUNS

There are 10 nouns in this short passage. Identify whether they are count or
non-count nouns. Use your knowledge on the use of determiners (or not) with
count and non-count nouns to help you.

Then find a rule from page 15 (which contains more on count and non-count
nouns) to account for each of your answers.

The first one is done for you.

The country was in much chaos. Many tourists had been left stranded at the

overcrowded airport strewn with baggage. There was an air of desperation. No

help seemed to be available for the many frightened people left with no flights

out.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Noun Count or non- Rule

count
1 country count Count nouns which are singular must
have a determiner.

10

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 2 Describing people and things

6 FROM NOUNS TO NOUN PHRASES

There are 10 noun phrases underlined in the text below. Demonstrate your
understanding of how noun phrases can be written and developed by breaking
down the structure of the noun phrases in the table. You may refer to pages
24–28 for more on noun phrases.

‘Thirdhand Smoke’ May Pose Health Risk

In addition to the firsthand smoke that smokers inhale directly and the secondhand
smoke that bystanders breathe in, scientists have recently become concerned about
‘thirdhand smoke’.
According to a new study, tobacco smoke also reacts with particles in the air to
produce cancer-causing compounds that linger on surfaces for months. It’s possible
that these compounds could seep through our skin on contact. They could also turn
into dust that we breathe in. Babies and small children would be at greater risk, since
they are most likely to touch floors and other surfaces.
“Many parents that smoke do it in ways that they think are protecting their children by,
for example, smoking at certain times when their children are not present,” said Hugo
Destaillats, a physical chemist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in
Berkeley, California. “But the fact that these contaminants remain on some places in
the absence of active smoking might be another route of exposure that people are not
aware of.”
Nicotine from tobacco smoke seeps into rugs and other surfaces, and stays there for
long periods of time. To see what happens to nicotine after it settles in, Destaillats and
colleagues focused on the compound’s interaction with nitrous acid, produced by gas-
burning appliances found in most homes and vehicle engines. The reaction between
nicotine and nitrous acid produced substantial amounts of three types of toxic
compounds, the scientists reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Science. All three compounds belonged to a group called nitrosamines, which are
known to prompt tumour growth.
“Tobacco smoking is bad for people who smoke and people who don’t smoke, and
here’s another way it might be bad for people who don’t smoke,” said Jonathan Samet,
a pulmonary physician and epidemiologist at the University of Southern California in
Los Angeles. “This suggests that there may be residual contamination to surfaces
relevant to the health of non-smokers. It’s a potential risk beyond inhalation.”
(Adapted from ‘Thirdhand Smoke’ May Pose Health Risk by Emily Sohn, taken from All
About English Textbook Express 2, p. 100, (Hodder Education Singapore 2011)

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Premodifier Head Postmodifier

Determiner Adjective Noun

10

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 2 Describing people and things

7 ABOUT DETERMINERS

Circle the correct determiner to be used in each sentence. Then explain the
reason for your choice by referring to pages 30-37 which have more on
determiners.

The first one has been done for you.

1 Let’s go and see these / those pretty flowers growing in the garden.

Explanation:

Determiners are used to say whether things or people are near or far
away from the speaker. The verb ‘go’ signals that the speaker needs to
go over to the flowers which then means that the flowers are far away
from the speaker. Hence the determiner ‘those’ should be used.______

2 The little girl enjoys reading about the/Ø dinosaurs in her spare time.

Explanation:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

3 The students were encouraged to inject a little/a few humour into their
speeches.

Explanation:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

4 I was given this/these antique vases two years ago by a friend.

Explanation:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

5 On the first day of school, our teacher told us to each write a/the creative
story.

Explanation:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

6 Sandra sprained her/the ankle when she was running up the stairs.

Explanation:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

7 How many/How much time was put into making this beautiful piece of
sculpture?

Explanation:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

8 The rich lady bought a/the most expensive painting at the art exhibition.

Explanation:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

9 Please give the dinner table another wipe as a/Ø rice is still on the table.

Explanation:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

10 That girl’s/Those girl’s posters were destroyed in the heavy rain.

Explanation:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 2 Describing people and things

8 ABOUT ADJECTIVES

The adjectives in the sentences below have been underlined. Identify the types
of adjectives according to where they appear in the sentences:
attributive/postpositive/predicative.

Then write a sentence with the same adjective but in a different position. You
may refer to pages 53–55 for more on the types of adjectives according to
where they appear in sentences.

The first one has been done for you.

Sentence Type of adjective Rewrite the sentence with the same

adjective but in a different position
1 The talk that we just predicative She made some interesting points at the
attended on meeting. (attributive)
pyramids was very
interesting.
2 Faridah seems
really contented with
how things have
turned out.

3 Anita comes across

as a very obnoxious
girl but she is just
the opposite.

4 We were asked to
make something
useful out of the
cardboard boxes.

5 The responsible boy

looked after his little
sister when his
mother was away at
the medical clinic.
6 The hotel has many
rooms available.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

7 That is a quirky
habit, isn’t it?

8 When Meiqi heard

the news, she felt
joyful.

9 My friends
complimented me
by saying that I
looked gorgeous in
white.

10 Kaili is a very
outgoing girl and
she is always ready
for a challenge.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 2 Describing people and things

9 ABOUT PRONOUNS

In the sentences below, one pronoun is used incorrectly. Identify and circle the
incorrect pronoun. Then write the correct pronoun that should be used. You
may refer to pages 60–75 for more on the use of pronouns.

1 The twins are constantly arguing with themselves. _______________

2 Amirah and me have been best friends since we were in first year
kindergarten. _______________

3 I like to take photographs of me. I have a lot of selfies. _______________

4 Look at the dresses we just bought. Your is prettier than mine.

_______________

5 Tara enjoyed her at the music concert that she had attended with her friends.
_______________

6 ‘The pink roses over there are so beautiful. I’ll buy these,’ my cousin said to
the florist who was attending to her at the plant nursery. _______________

7 ‘Whom made this delicious chicken pie?’ my father asked us after taking a
mouthful of it. _______________

8 Mrs Tan was one of the speakers at the seminar. I was very impressed by
him. _______________

9 I have two black dresses in my wardrobe. Few are good choices for the
party. _______________

10 We are thrilled that the teacher which taught us Science two years ago has
won the President’s Award for Teachers. _______________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 3 Describing what is happening

10 ABOUT VERBS

Complete the passage using the verbs in the brackets and the prompts given.
You may refer to pages 82-87 for more on the form of verbs.

A court (1) __________ (hear – simple past tense) yesterday that a pair of teenage

brothers (2) ___________ (rob – past perfective) a convenience store on Amoy Street

the previous Thursday. The brothers (3) ___________ (accuse – past tense, passive

voice) of “attempted armed robbery”, as in addition to the robbery, they (4)

______________ (slash – past perfective) the store cashier’s hand with a knife when

he (5) ______________ (attempt– simple past tense) (6) _____________ (stop – to-

infinitive) them. Three passers-by (7) _____________ (run – simple past tense) after

the brothers upon (8) ________ (hear – progressive, non-finite) the store cashier (9)

____________ (shout – bare form, non-finite) for help. The passers-by (10)

___________ (catch – simple past tense) the brothers after a short chase.

*a legal term

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 3 Describing what is happening

11 FROM VERBS TO VERB PHRASES

There is one verb form error in each verb phrase underlined in the sentences
below. Correct the verb form and state the rule from pages 90-91 (which have
more on verb forms in a verb phrase) which you applied in making each of the
corrections.

The first one has been done for you.

Sentence Correction Rule

1 The man is walk to the The man is walking to The continuous auxiliary
train station right now. the train station right BE requires that the verb
now. which comes
immediately after it must
be in the -ing participle
form.

2 The old lady had live

in that mansion before
she died.

3 The theft that took

place yesterday has
been report in the
newspapers.

4 The pretty china doll

was broke by the
neighbour’s daughter.

5 The flowers might had

been watered by the
gardener yesterday.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

6 The seeds planted in

the ground last week
should have start to
bud.

7 The students have

been revised for their
test since yesterday.

8 The girls must are

feeling tired after that
long run.

9 The boys have being

playing computer
games all morning.

10 The strawberry tarts in

the refrigerator can be
ate by the hungry
children.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 3 Describing what is happening

12 TIME, TENSE AND ASPECT

Identify the form of the underlined verb phrases (in terms of tense and aspect)
in the sentences below. Find a rule from pages 98-103 (which has more on time,
tense and aspect) to explain why each form of the verb phrase is used in the
sentences.

The first one has been done for you.

Sentence Form of verb phrase Rule

1 The children were past continuous Past continuous form is

dancing in the garden used here for an event that
when their mother continued for some time in
called out to them. the past.

2 The Wong family went

to London last June.

3 They have been

waiting for the bus for
almost two hours.

4 Rahman makes yearly

trips to Singapore
from Italy, where he
has lived since 2000.

5 Karishma opened her

bag to find out that
she had forgotten by
her purse.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

6 ‘Daiwei is ill. He is
sleeping right now.
Please call back later,’
Dawei’s mother told
me when I called him.
7 Shuhui had been
playing the violin for
three years before she
joined the youth
orchestra.
8 As part of her daily
exercise regime,
Celestine jogs for 30
minutes.

9 Mariam and Meiling

have known each
other for more than
twenty years and they
still meet regularly.
10 It was when Alicia was
working in the hospital
that she met her
husband, who is a
doctor.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 3 Describing what is happening

13 ADVERBS

Look at the following pairs of sentences. In each pair, identify the word that
appears in both sentences. In which pair of sentences (a or b) is it an adverb?
Circle the adverb in each pair of sentences.

You will need to draw on your knowledge of nouns, adjectives, prepositions and
verbs when doing this exercise. You may refer to pages 106-113 for more on
the meaning, form and function of adverbs.

1 a The drunk driver drove straight into the crowded bus stop.
b He made sure his tie was straight before entering the meeting room.

2 a The suitcases are stored underneath the bed.

b He wore a jacket with a T-shirt underneath.

3 a Melia felt well after resting in bed that afternoon.

b Those who can sing well will be selected to perform in the school
musical.

4 a The man let the dogs run free in the field.

b We were told to free the butterflies we caught after our nature walk.

5 a Zhiqiang is in the right and so he won the case.

b It is important to eat right on a daily basis to keep healthy.

6 a Alicia jogs weekly at the park.

b I am looking forward to my weekly tennis game with my neighbour.

7 a The outside of the house has been decorated with Christmas lights.
b When I heard the loud explosion, I opened the door and looked outside
to see what had happened.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

8 a We had to hold on to the railings to steady ourselves on the moving bus.

b While my father climbed the ladder, I held it steady.

9 a The package was delivered to my home last night.

b Thomas is still sleeping as he got home late last night.

10 a There is no other way to get to the other side except to swim across.
b The bakery selling those delicious buns is across the street.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 4 Connecting ideas and information

14 ABOUT PREPOSITIONS

There are 10 prepositions in the passage below. First, identify the 10

prepositions. Second, decide whether the prepositions have been used
correctly or incorrectly in the sentences. Third, if the preposition has been used
incorrectly, indicate the correct answer. Finally, where the prepositions have
been used incorrectly, explain why by referring to pages 118–120 which have
more on the meaning of prepositions.

The first one has been done for you.

My brother and I had wondered over the old house on the hill. We had never seen

anyone near the house before. Feeling bored last Wednesday, we wanted to do

something adventurous. We decided to explore the house and so we walked on the hill

towards the house. When we reached the house, we peered at a dirty window. We

were taken aback to see a frail-looking old woman sitting in a broken-down dining table

surrounded with some scrawny cats. The house looked dark and neglected. Overcome

through pity, my brother and I ran home, packed some food for the old woman and

returned to give the old woman the food. She accepted it gratefully. What was

supposed to be an adventure became a good deed instead.

Preposition Used Correct Explanation

correctly preposition
/incorrectly
1 over incorrect about The correct preposition to be
used here is ‘about’ which
would show the relationship
between the action ‘wondered’
and ‘the old house’, and
‘wonder(ed) about
(something)’ is a fixed
expression.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

10

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Unit 4 Connecting ideas and information

15 ABOUT CONJUNCTIONS

The following conjunctions have been incorrectly used in terms of their

meanings. First, underline the conjunction which has been used incorrectly.
Second, rewrite the sentence with the correct conjunction.

Finally, explain why the conjunctions are used incorrectly in terms of the
meanings. You may refer to pages 123-126 for more on the meaning of
conjunctions.

The first one has been done for you.

Sentence Correct sentence Explanation

1 I brought you a sweater I brought you a sweater The subordinate conjunction

although it is a cold day. because/as it is a cold ‘although’ introduces a
day. contradictory idea.

The subordinate conjunction

‘because’/‘as’ introduces a
reason.
2 Gayathri studied hard so
she would get an A for
her exam.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

3 Rosian wrote the script

for the play but he acted
in it.

4 Mammals include great

cats such as the
cheetah or the jaguar.

5 Samuel had to undergo

weekly medical
treatment for over a
year, and he always
was cheerful.

6 Although I was hungry,

but I did not take a
single bite from the food
on the table.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

7 Firdaus was not feeling

well, for he rested at
home.

8 If he works hard for the

test, he will fail it.

9 Until the students were

streaming into the hall,
the commenters were
practicing on the stage.

10 Zhiwei has been so

distracted provided he
got the playstation.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 5 Making meaning through sentences

16 SENTENCES AND CLAUSES
17 CLAUSE FUNCTIONS

Underline the SUBJECTs of the following sentences. Identifying the main verb
phrase of each sentence will help you identify the SUBJECT in each sentence.
You may refer to pages 132-134 for more on SUBJECTs.

1 Tanya sent her sister who is living in Australia a Christmas card.

2 The girls seem very pleased with their win at the tournament.

3 I consider John a brother.

4 Junkai has met the captain of the swimming team.

5 The old blanket in the cupboard smells.

6 The box in the car contains all the equipment needed.

7 The students from my class found the test really easy.

8 The exhausted children are sleeping.

9 My cousin wrote me an email about her sixteenth birthday party.

10 Peter loves to play football with his neighbours.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 5 Making meaning through sentences

17 CLAUSE FUNCTIONS

First, identify the uses of the ADVERBIALs in the table below by referring to
page 141. Then rewrite the sentences below by selecting a suitable
ADVERBIAL from the table. Each ADVERBIAL may only be used once.

ADVERBIALS Uses

a unless you save some money

b since this morning
c as she had a lot of time on her
hands
d daily
e from the market
f on the first of this month
g in spite of being rich
h than she looks
i upon seeing Alex and Jane
together
j with a heavy heart

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

1 She goes to the gym.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

2 You will not be able to afford that necklace.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

3 She left the hospital.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

4 We have been waiting for the delivery person to arrive.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

5 She decided to go window shopping.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

6 I was shocked.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

7 I bought these beautiful fresh flowers.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

8 I should receive my exam results.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

9 He is extremely humble in his ways.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

10 My sister is much younger.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 5 Making meaning through sentences

18 COMBINING SENTENCES

Identify and underline the subordinate clauses in the following complex

sentences. Identifying the verb phrases in the sentences will help you identify
the clauses in the complex sentences.

You will recall that 1 Verb Phrase = 1 Clause, 2 Verb Phrases = 2 Clauses, etc.
You may refer to pages 154-158 for more on subordinate clauses.

The first one has been done for you.

1 I believe that Sara will make a good president of the drama club.

2 Celia hopes to meet the President someday.

3 The woman who is standing over there is my English teacher.

4 We were late for the meeting because we missed the bus.

5 Cheering loudly, the crowd welcomed home the victorious national

football team.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

6 Everyone does not know why Ameer is upset.

7 The girl courageously returned to the place where the accident had
happened.

8 That the little boy escaped the fire unhurt is a miracle!

9 My mother taught me how to cook so well.

10 Although Andrew lives in a luxurious bungalow, he is very humble.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 5 Making meaning through sentences

19 THE FUNCTIONS OF SENTENCES

Read the conversation below.

Mrs Menon and her two children, Ravi and Ragini, are at the supermarket, shopping
for groceries.

Mrs Menon: (1) How crowded the supermarket is today!

(Mrs Menon points at a shelf carrying bottles of soya sauce.)

(2) Ravi, please get me a bottle of soya sauce.

Ravi: (3) One bottle is enough?

Mrs Menon : Yes, thank you, Ravi.

Ragini: (4) Mum, could we bake a cake today?

Mrs Menon: Yes, we can, Ragini.

(5) We need some milk, eggs and flour for the cake.

Ragini: (6) I will get all the necessary ingredients?

Mrs Menon: Yes, go ahead and do that, Ragini.

(7) Ravi, would you shop for the rest of the groceries on our
grocery list with me?

(Ravi nods his head)

(8) (to Ragini) Meet us at the cashier’s in twenty minutes.

Mrs Menon and Ravi shop for the rest of the groceries while Ragini picks up the
ingredients for the cake. Twenty minutes later, they all meet at the cashier. Mrs Menon
pays for the groceries. They have several bags of groceries.

Mrs Menon: (9) Ravi, you can help me carry some of the shopping bags.

Look. Ragini has already picked up some of the bags.

Ravi: (10) Yes, I will help, Mum.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Identify the form and function of the numbered sentences identified in the
conversation. You may refer to pages 161-164 for more on the functions of
sentences.

The first one has been done for you.

1 Form: __Exclamative sentence____

Function: __Exclamation____________

2 Form: _________________________

Function: _________________________

3 Form: _________________________

Function: _________________________

4 Form: _________________________

Function: _________________________

5 Form: _________________________

Function: _________________________

6 Form: _________________________

Function: _________________________

7 Form: _________________________

Function: _________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

8 Form: _________________________

Function: _________________________

9 Form: _________________________

Function: _________________________

10 Form: _________________________

Function: _________________________

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Unit 5 Making meaning through sentences

20 VARYING SENTENCE STRUCTURES

Change the direct speech in each question to indirect or reported speech. Then
explain what you did. You may refer to pages 171–176 for more on direct and
indirect speech.

The first one has been done for you.

1 ‘I am a really good artist.’

Alicia claims_that she is a really good artist.

Explanation:

a) the first person pronoun ‘I’ changes to third person ‘she’

b) ‘am’ is changed to ‘is’ and remains in the present tense as the tense of the
reported speech does not change if the saying (or reporting) verb is in the
present tense.

2 ‘Why did the children miss their music class?’

The teacher asked _______________________________________________ .

Explanation:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

3 ‘I placed the container with marbles on this table.’

My son told me that ______________________________________________ .

Explanation:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

4 ‘Present your project tomorrow during History class.’

My teacher instructed me __________________________________________ .

Explanation:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

5 ‘My sister has been waiting for the parcel since yesterday.’

Wei Hua said that ________________________________________________ .

Explanation:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

6 ‘My daughter jogs regularly at the sports stadium.’

Mr Lim said that _________________________________________________ .

Explanation:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

7 ‘The audition for the lead actor in the play is taking place now in the room.’

She informed Kumaran that ________________________________________ .

Explanation:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

8 ‘We may visit Jill in Australia during the holidays.’

The Lim family said that ____________________________________________ .

Explanation:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

9 ‘Lishi had been living in London since 2004.’

They told us that _________________________________________________ .

Explanation:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

10 ‘You must remember that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.’

Our Science teacher asked us ______________________________________ .

Explanation:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 5 Making meaning through sentences

21 SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Which form of the verb agrees with the SUBJECT? Underline the answer.

Then state the rule from pages 177-185 (which have more on SUBJECT-VERB
agreement) which you applied in identifying the correct verb form that agrees
with the SUBJECT.

The first one has been done for you.

1 The three slices of cake served at breakfast (was/were) delicious.

Rule: _ When the SUBJECT is plural, its VERB must be plural.

2 I or she (need/needs) to unlock the door to the classroom tomorrow

morning.

Rule: ___________________________________________

3 One of the apples (has fallen/ have fallen) to the ground.

Rule: ___________________________________________

4 The advice given by the counselors (was/were) very helpful to the

students.

Rule: ___________________________________________

5 There (is/are) many paper cranes floating in the river.

Rule: ___________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

6 Anne, along with her aunt, (arrive/arrives) in Singapore at midnight.

Rule: ___________________________________________

7 The red velvet cupcake and the chocolate chip muffin (is made/ are
made) by my neighbour who is a professional baker.

Rule: ___________________________________________

8 Everyone in school (appreciate/appreciates) the cleaners for their hard

work in keeping the school clean.

Rule: ____________________________________________

9 Her new trousers (was ruined/were ruined) by the hot iron.

Rule: _____________________________________________

10 The audience (is/are) chatting while waiting for the performance to start.

Rule: ______________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

Unit 6 Exploring grammar in texts

22 TEXT AND GRAMMAR

Read the text below and answer the questions.

(Refer to pages 186–228 for more information on different types of texts.)

How rivers are formed

Rivers are formed through the hydrologic cycle. The hydrologic cycle is the continuous
recycling of water between the atmosphere and the land surface.

Heat from the Sun causes water to evaporate into water vapour. When air parcels
containing water vapour are heated, they become less dense and rise. As this moist air
rises, it cools. Cooler air can hold less water vapour so it condenses into tiny water 5
droplets which sometimes form large, fluffy masses called clouds. If the clouds
continue to rise and cool, the tiny water droplets will combine to form larger and
heavier droplets which then fall as rain. In colder countries or at much higher
elevations, the rising water vapour changes into light ice crystals known as snow.

Rain and snow are two types of precipitation which fall onto the Earth’s surface. The 10
precipitation may fall on the ground, directly into rivers, lakes and seas, or be
intercepted by plants or trees. If there is a light shower which lasts for a short duration,
little or no rain may reach the ground. The rainwater will be briefly held on leaves
where it may be absorbed by the plants or evaporated.

If the rain is heavier and lasts for a longer period of time, the rainwater will drop from 15
the trees and infiltrate the soil. Moving slowly underground, some of this water will
emerge from openings called springs and the water will eventually collect in lakes and
rivers. In other locations, the groundwater remains above the bedrock where it forms
layers of water-saturated soil or sand.

When the soil cannot absorb any more rainwater, the excess water will flow over the 20
land as surface runoff. This water, together with the slow moving groundwater, will
eventually flow into streams, rivers or lakes.

(Adapted from Tieh, P & Pask, R, Eye for Geography, Hodder Education Singapore, 2007,
p. 62)

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

1 What type of text is this?

____________________________________________________

2 What is the text structure? Indicate using line numbers.

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

3 Identify 3 noun phrases that contain postmodifiers in paragraph 2 that tell

you how rivers are formed.
a __________________________________________________
b __________________________________________________
c __________________________________________________

4 Give 3 examples of verb phrases in the present tense in paragraph 4.

a __________________________________________________
b __________________________________________________
c __________________________________________________

Why would you find verb phrases in the present tense in this type of text?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

5 Identify 2 examples of verb phrases used in the passive voice in

paragraph 3.
a __________________________________________________
b __________________________________________________

Why would you find the use of the passive voice in this type of text?

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

6 Identify 3 connectors used in the text in paragraph 2.

a _________________________
b _________________________
c _________________________

Why is using connectors important in this type of text?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

USING PUNCTUATION

Some of these sentences contain incorrect punctuation. Edit them using the
correct punctuation. In pairs, explain to your partner what punctuation mark(s)
you have changed or added and say why. You may refer to pages 229-237 for
more on punctuation.

The first one has been done for you.

1 Jason shut the door when you leave the room.

Jason, shut the door when you leave the room.
‘Jason’ is a vocative that is used with a directive here. Commas are
used when we address people.

2 There are seven continents in the world: Africa, Antarctica, Asia,

Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

3 We were excited to finally meet Lucas Lee the well-known

Singaporean sculptor at the launch of his exhibition.

4 ‘Shall we watch the original version of Alice in Wonderland at my

place tonight?’ Megan asked her friends.

5 It was a bright and sunny day; we just had to have a picnic outdoors.

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Grammar for Secondary 1–5

6 When the school bell rang the children handed in their test papers.

7 Some elderly people – like my grandmother – are still active and able
to contribute to society in a variety of ways.

_______________________________________________________

8 What a lovely surprise to receive twenty one roses on your birthday!

9 I am feeling much better now: I could even get out of bed on my own.

10 Kate said excitedly, ‘Tomorrow is a wonderful day as its my birthday!’

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