Primary 4 · English · Sentence Synthesis & Transformation
Sentence Synthesis & Transformation questions for Primary 4 English
12 questions to work through online, 4 of them written out the way the paper asks. Answer and you get the working straight away, then a score at the end. No sign-up, and you can retake it as often as you like.
- Relative clauses
- Reported speech
- The passive
- Not only ... but also
- Too ... to and enough
- Despite and although
- Conditionals
- Question tags
- Writing the joining word
- Writing the verb form
- Writing reported speech
Answers and explanations for all 12 questions
Every answer with the reasoning behind it. Worth reading after you have tried the set — or on its own, if you are a parent marking it.
Join these sentences: The girl lent me her calculator. Her father teaches at our school.
Answer: The girl whose father teaches at our school lent me her calculator.
Whose shows that the father belongs to the girl, and the clause goes straight after her.
Rewrite in reported speech: "I will finish the poster tomorrow," said Aisha.
Answer: Aisha said that she would finish the poster the next day.
In reported speech the pronoun matches the speaker, will steps back to would, and tomorrow becomes the next day.
Rewrite so that it begins with the mural: The P4 pupils painted the mural outside the library.
Answer: The mural outside the library was painted by the P4 pupils.
Turning the sentence round puts the mural first, the verb becomes was painted, and by names who did it.
Join these sentences: The hall was too small. The hall had no fans.
Answer: The hall was not only too small but also without fans.
Not only and but also must be followed by matching parts — here, two descriptions of the hall.
Rewrite using enough: The shelf was too high for Anya to reach.
Answer: Anya was not tall enough to reach the shelf.
Too high for her is the same as her not being tall enough, and enough follows the adjective.
Rewrite using despite: Although it rained heavily, the match went on.
Answer: Despite the heavy rain, the match went on.
Despite is followed by a noun phrase, so it rained heavily becomes the heavy rain.
Join these sentences: You must label your bottle. Otherwise it will be put in lost property.
Answer: If you do not label your bottle, it will be put in lost property.
Otherwise warns what happens when the instruction is not followed, and if you do not carries that.
Complete the sentence: There is hardly any milk left, ______
Answer: is there?
Hardly makes the statement negative, so it takes a positive tag, and the subject is there.
Write one word for the blank. He had trained for months; ______ , his time was slower than in June.
Answer: however
The second half goes against what the first half leads you to expect, and however marks that turn.
Write the correct form of the marked word. The prizes will be handed out after every entry [judge] by the panel.
Answer: has been judged
The entry receives the action, so the verb turns round, and after wants the judging finished: has been judged.
Write one word for the blank. "Where did you find it?" the teacher asked. → The teacher asked where I ______ found it.
Answer: had
Did find steps back to had found once the question is reported, so the blank is had.
Write one word for the blank. ______ the bus broke down, we would have reached the hall on time.
Answer: Unless
Unless means if not, so the sentence says they would have been on time if the bus had not broken down.