Primary 6 · English · Sentence Synthesis & Transformation
Sentence Synthesis & Transformation questions for Primary 6 English
12 questions to work through online, 6 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.
- Had it not been for
- Not only ... but also
- Reported speech with a time change
- The passive with a reported verb
- Neither ... nor
- So that and in order to
- Writing the joining word
- Writing the verb form
- Writing the relative pronoun
- Writing with despite
- Writing the tag
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.
Rewrite using had: If the neighbour had not called the fire brigade, the shop would have burnt down.
Answer: Had the neighbour not called the fire brigade, the shop would have burnt down.
Dropping if turns the clause round: had comes first, the subject follows, and not sits after the subject.
Join these sentences using not only: The drought ruined the harvest. It emptied the village well.
Answer: The drought not only ruined the harvest but also emptied the village well.
Not only and but also each introduce a verb phrase, so the two halves match: ruined the harvest, emptied the well.
Rewrite in reported speech: "I finished the model yesterday," said Kelvin.
Answer: Kelvin said that he had finished the model the day before.
Reported speech moves the pronoun, steps the verb back, and turns yesterday into the day before.
Rewrite so that it begins with The scheme: People say that the scheme has saved the town millions.
Answer: The scheme is said to have saved the town millions.
People say that X has done Y becomes X is said to have done Y — the reporting verb turns round and that becomes to.
Join these sentences using neither: The lift was not working. The escalator was not working either.
Answer: Neither the lift nor the escalator was working.
Neither pairs with nor, the negative is carried once, and the verb agrees with the nearer subject: escalator, so was.
Rewrite using in order: She left at dawn so that she would avoid the traffic.
Answer: She left at dawn in order to avoid the traffic.
In order to is followed by the plain verb, and the subject is not repeated.
Write one word for the blank. No sooner had the referee blown the whistle ______ the crowd was on its feet.
Answer: than
No sooner is always followed by than.
Write the correct form of the marked word. The bridge is reported [collapse] during the night.
Answer: to have collapsed
Is reported is followed by to, and because the event is already over it becomes to have collapsed.
Write one word for the blank. The recipe calls for milk; ______ , water will do at a pinch.
Answer: however
The second half offers something the first half did not lead you to expect, and however marks that turn.
Write one word for the blank. The author, ______ first novel sold badly, went on to win the prize twice.
Answer: whose
The novel belongs to the author, so the word that joins them is whose.
Write one word for the blank. Despite ______ warned twice, he left his bicycle unlocked again.
Answer: being
Despite takes an -ing form, and because the warning was done to him it is being warned.
Write the two words that complete the sentence. Nothing was taken from the drawer, ______ ?
Answer: was it
Nothing makes the statement negative, so the tag is positive, and the pronoun for nothing is it — giving was it.