SUPER SAMYS P3 & P4 COMPOSITION SESSION 9 n 10

1.Tom likes to cycle. Jane likes to cycle too.

Blur Students Answer: Both Tom and Jane likes to cycle.

Mistake: likes >>> like

Comment: Strangely, the simpler the question, the more overconfident students become.
They will blindly copy-paste and move on to the next question. There you go! 2 marks gone
just like that! Ouch!

2. Tom did not know that there were lessons today. Jane did not know that there were
lessons today.

Blur Students Answer: Neither Tom nor Jane knows that there were lessons today.

Mistake: knows>>>knew

Comment: In this case, the blur student forgets that the word did in the question shows that
this event had taken place in the past. Past tense must be used. Always be sure of the time
frame of the event.

3. Toms mother asked Tom, Where were you last night?

Blur Students Answer: Toms mother asked him where was he the previous night.

Mistake: The answer should be Toms mother asked him where he had been the previous
night.

Comment: When students look at indirect speech questions, they feel so excited and focus so
much on changing last night to the previous night. Good job! Sadly, because of this
single-minded focus they always forget these other 2 rules for indirect speech.

past tense in direct speech (dialogue) must be changed to past perfect tense ( had
+_______[past participle]) in the indirect speech. In this case, were >>> had been

when the direct speech is asking a question, make sure that when you convert it to indirect
speech, your phrasing must suit a full stop. Do not phrase it in such a way that it still sounds
like a question mark sentence. E.g:

o Toms mother asked him where had he been the previous night. (WRONG. Notice that when
you read this sentence out loud it ends with a question mark tone.)
o Toms mother asked him where he had been the previous night. (CORRECT. Now when you
read this sentence out it ends with a full-stop tone.)
4. Tom ate his dinner. He went back to do his homework.

Blur Students Answer: Having ate his dinner, Tom went back to do his homework.

Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves 1
 SUPER SAMYS P3 & P4 COMPOSITION SESSION 9 n 10

Mistake: ate >>> eaten

Comment: Students always forget that there is a grammar rule called Present Perfect Tense.
Somehow, they only view sentences in Present Tense and Past Tense, which sadly, is not the
case. Present perfect tense consists of:

o has/have + ________ (past participle)

o Students also forget that there is such a thing called past participle
o E.g of past participles eaten, forgotten, drunk, slept, driven, sung, swumetc.
5. Tom put in a lot of effort. He still did not win the race.

Blur Students Answer: Despite putting in a lot of effort, he still did not win the race.

Mistake: he>>>Tom

Comment: Once again, due to copying-pasting without thinking, students forget that he
could mean anybody. We need to make sure readers know that Tom is the subject mentioned
in this sentence.

Practice makes Perfect

The good news is, although Synthesis and Transformation may seem difficult at the start,
with thorough practice, I have seen some of my students master it to get full marks
consistently. After doing a number of questions, you will start to see some similarities and
patterns. This will make doing Synthesis and Transformation questions much easier for you
over time.

Remember, English, like any other language, is just made up of a set of rules. Practise and
remember the rules and you will be fine!

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 SUPER SAMYS P3 & P4 COMPOSITION SESSION 9 n 10

It's so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to. ~Annie Gottlier 3
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 SUPER SAMYS P3 & P4 COMPOSITION SESSION 9 n 10

Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves 4
 SUPER SAMYS P3 & P4 COMPOSITION SESSION 9 n 10

2015 Formal / Informal

2016 Formal / Informal

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 SUPER SAMYS P3 & P4 COMPOSITION SESSION 9 n 10

Synthesis & Transformation 10 Challenging Questions

1. The security guard stopped the girls outside the shop. The security guard suspected that the girls
had stolen some stationery. Suspecting
______________________________________________________________________________

2. Thomas is not as knowledgeable about Social Studies as his siblings are. Thomas does not know as
________________________________________________________________________________

3. The dog will bite you if you disturb it.

_________________________________________________________unless_____

4. The boys played in the field until they were late for classes. They did not do their homework as
well. Not only ___________________________________________________________________

5. She asked us, Did anybody call me while I was out? She asked us
________________________________________________________________________________

6. The dentist advised, Do not eat any solid food until your gums are healed. The dentist advised
me______________________________________________________________________________

7. The boy got knocked down by a car. We met him last night.
_____________________________whom______________________________________________

8. He injured his leg. He continued running.

Despite_____________________________________________________________

9. Johnny still failed his test. He tried very hard. No matter

___________________________________________________________

10. Mary hates spicy food. The rest of us love spicy food. Except for ___________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

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 SUPER SAMYS P3 & P4 COMPOSITION SESSION 9 n 10

Do not peek until you have attempted all the questions!

1. Suspecting that the girls had stolen some stationery, the security guard stopped them outside the
shop.

2. Thomas does not know as much about Social Studies as his siblings do.

3. The dog will not bite you unless you disturb it.

4. Not only did the boys play in the field until they were late for classes, but they also did not do
their homework.

5. She asked us if/whether anybody had called her while she was out.

6. My dentist advised me not to eat any solid food until my gums were healed.

7. The boy whom we met last night got knocked down by a car. Or The boy, whom we met last
night, got knocked down by a car.

8. Despite injuring his leg, he continued running. Or Despite his leg injury, he continued running. Or
Despite his injured leg, he continued running.

9. No matter how hard John tried, he still failed his test.

10.Except for Mary, the rest of us love spicy food

Reading Comprehension Assessment Directions:

Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.

Fruit Fly Fix

It is breakfast time. You have been looking forward to eating a nice ripe banana ever since you
woke up. Just when you reach for the delicious piece of fruit on your counter, you see something
that makes you much less hungry: a swarm of fruit flies! Fruit flies are tiny insects that are
attracted to ripe or rotting fruits and vegetables. The flies not only eat the fruit, they also lay
their eggs there. A single fruit fly can lay up to 500 eggs on the surface of a piece of fruit. Within
eight days, the fruit flies that hatch from these eggs are full adults that can then lay their own
eggs. As you can see, what might start out as a small fruit fly problem can become very large
very quickly. Although there is a chance fruit flies can carry germs on to your food, this is not
very likely. Fruit flies are annoying, but they probably will not hurt you. Because they are such a
nuisance, however, most people want to get rid of these pesky bugs as quickly as possible. Some
people use pesticide sprays on the fruit flies. Although this will kill the flies, it will also spread
harmful poison all over your kitchen. Luckily, there is also a completely safe way for you to get
rid of fruit flies in your house. The first step is for you to remove all fruits or vegetables from
your counter. Store these items in the refrigerator or in sealed containers. Clean up any spilled
juice or bits of food that might be on the floor. Take out the trash and empty the recycling bin.
Wash any dirty dishes that are in your sink. Doing all of these things will stop new fruit flies
from finding food or places to lay their eggs. Next, make a trap to catch all of the remaining fruit

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 SUPER SAMYS P3 & P4 COMPOSITION SESSION 9 n 10

flies in your house. First, fill a small bowl with a few tablespoons of vinegar. Then, put a piece of
very ripe or rotting fruit into the vinegar. Cover the bowl very tightly with a sheet of plastic
wrap and poke a few very small holes in the wrap with a fork. If all goes according to plan, the
flies will enter the trap through the holes but will be unable to fly back out. This trap will catch
all of the remaining fruit flies. You can either kill these flies or release them outdoors. Fruit flies
can be a pest, but they do not have to make you crazy. With a little effort, you can get existing
flies out of your house and prevent new ones from taking over your kitchen.
1) In reading this passage, we learn that fruit flies
I. die immediately after they lay their eggs
II. can grow into adults after only 8 days
III. are mostly harmless
A. I only B. I and II only C. II and III only D. I, II, and III

2) As used in paragraph 3, a nuisance is something that

A. bothers you B. can be dangerous C. grows fast D. is very small

3) According to the passage, why should you not use pesticide spray to kill fruit flies?
A. most sprays do not actually kill all of the fruit flies
B. buying sprays can get expensive if you need to use a lot of them
C. the sprays take too much time to work
D. it can be dangerous to use them in your kitchen

4) Based on the information in the penultimate (next-to-last) paragraph, we can understand

that the author thinks that
A. some people do not mind having fruit flies in their house
B. some people do not like killing insects
C. fruit flies do not like vinegar
D. making a fruit fly trap can be difficult

5) Imagine you had a fruit fly outbreak in your kitchen. What would you do to handle the
situation? Would you take the advice offered in the passage? Why or why not?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6) How would you react if you only saw one fruit fly in your house? Would you take the same
action you described in question five, or would you behave differently? Why?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 SUPER SAMYS P3 & P4 COMPOSITION SESSION 9 n 10
QUESTION

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MINDMAPPING FOR A MISHAP SUPER SAMYS P3 & P4 COMPOSITION SESSION 9 n 10

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Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves 11