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FAIRFIELD METHODIST SCHOOL (PRIMARY)EL REVISION 2010

SYNTHESIS & TRANSFORMATION (Answers)

1. Not only does Amy sing like an angel, but also dances divinely.(There is a need for comma before the but. In addition, if we are talking about the sameperson, we can omit the pronoun in the 2nd half. A way of checking if it is correct is to

move not only to the middle and see if the sentence still retains its original meaning. Ifthere is also, remove the too.)

Not only does Amy sing like an angel; she dances divinely too.(For this answer, you need to place a semi-colon between the two separate ideas, not acomma. In addition, here we must retain the too as also is not added.)

2. Besides visiting the zoo, Kaylen should also visit Sentosa.(It is mostly an ing form after besides. Also as we cannot place the subject in the front,we place it in the second half.)

3. Apart from basketball, Lili does not show enthusiasm in playing games.

4. All but Joan clapped loudly after the dance recital.(Identify the subject. Here it is in past tense so it does not matter but if it is not, then youneed to identify the subject to get the correct subject-verb agreement.)

5. Unlike me sister, I am not an exhibitionist.

6. Despite being a strong swimmer, Clarice was nearly drowned in the pool.

Despite the fact that Clarice is a strong swimmer, she was nearly drowned in thepool.(The inclusion of was is very important here as it changed the meaning. It suggests thatsomeone else tried to kill her. Be careful to not miss out words and that you retain thesame meaning.)

7. None of the participants was good enough to be selected for the play.(Here, take note of the subject-verb agreement. None means not a single one and thus,

needs to be singular.)

8. He succeeded because of his hard work.(The words hard and work are separated.)

9. The farmers did not have good harvests due to the drought.(The original sentence is in past tense caused. Thus, it must also be in past tense did not rather than do not.)

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10.She speaks loudly in order to gain everyones attention.

11.Much to our embarrassment, our daughter was eating the sand at the playground.(Remember that if it much, it is usually followed by to and is usually a transformationquestion. In this questions, it is necessary to put the as the sand is specifically from theplayground.)

12.Neither the beef nor the fish is tasty.(For neither nor, always follow the 2nd subject. Here, neither negates tasteless, thusthere is a need to change it to the opposite, which in this case, is tasty.)

13.My sister enquired about / asked what we had done in class the previous week.(There are 5 things to change in reported speech. Remember to highlight the ones youneed to change in the question and this will ensure that you change all the necessaryones. The question is in past tense because of the word did so we must change it to pastparticiple. We must also change the time from last week to the previous week. PLEASEDO NOT USE THE WEEK BEFORE!)

14.Refer to question 10

15.The philanthropist made a generous donation to charity.

16.Not only is Madam Khoo upset with Kim, but her parents are also upset with her.(Once again, you need to check if you retain the same meaning if you shift not only. Inthis case, there are different special verbs is and are so there is a need to repeat theaction. Just imagine if you wrote:

Not only is Madam Khoo upset with Kim, but also her parents.

Once you place not only in the middle, it becomes like this:

Madam Khoo is not only upset with Kim, but also her parents. This changes themeaning entirely! It means Madam Khoo is upset with Kim and her parents which is notthe original meaning. Thus, YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL!)

17.Without feeling guilty, the rotund boy ate all the deep fried food.

18.June was mesmerized by the scenery in Japan.

19.After going on a joy ride, Larry returned the car to his father.(You need to realize the sequence of events and then place then accordingly looking atthe word after. Ask yourself after what did the next even happen and this will help you ingetting the right order.)

20. No matter how hard Dinesh tried, he could not decode the secret message.