Transformation and Synthesis in PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) may initially seem challenging, but they are not inherently difficult if approached with the right strategies. These sections are designed to test specific language skills, but they do so in ways that are manageable with practice.
Why it is not difficult:
Rules-based: Sentence transformation follows clear grammatical rules. Once students grasp these rules, they can apply them systematically. For example, the structure for converting active to passive voice is consistent, so practising it makes it easier over time.
Simplified problem-solving: The challenge lies more in identifying the relationship between sentences than in constructing them
Repetitive nature: The types of transformations (e.g., direct to reported speech, or combining sentences with conjunctions) are often predictable. With exposure to common patterns, students gain familiarity, and the task becomes more a matter of recognising which technique to apply.
Practice yields results: Consistent practice allows students to internalise patterns of sentence structure and word usage, making them more intuitive.
The following question type is a familiar staple in school preliminary papers, and you should expect it to appear in PSLE
No sooner / Hardly / Scarcely
This question type requires student to identify the order of events, which happened first. Then, students need to remember the structure:
No sooner HAD ... THAN... |
Hardly HAD... WHEN... |
Scarcely HAD... WHEN... |
Lastly, students have to use the past perfect form of the tense after HAD.
For example:
She ate the leftovers. Almost immediately, she felt sick. |
No sooner HAD she EATEN the leftovers THAN she felt sick. |
The fans rushed to the stage after the celebrity spoke. |
Hardly HAD the celebrity SPOKEN WHEN the fans rushed to the stage. |
He wrote his last sentence. Then, the bell rang. |
Scarcely HAD he WRITTEN his last sentence WHEN the bell rang. |
So to recap, these are the three steps to do:
Identify the order - write the first incident into the first clause |
Remember to add in the additional required words (HAD... THAN / HAD... WHEN) |
Use past perfect tense of a verb after HAD |
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