Primary 2 English Language syllabus: topics and practice questions
These are the topics and skills of Primary 2 English Language in the MOE syllabus, with 75 original practice questions. Each topic below has a sample question: try it, then open the worked answer.
Word reading and spelling
Phonics and spelling
9 practice questions
Spell words with blends and digraphs (sh, ch, th, ee, oa)
Spell common words correctly
Sample question
Choose the correctly spelt word to complete the sentence.
Mum bought a bar of (blank) to wash our hands.
A sope
B soap
C soop
D saop
Show the answer and working
Answer: (B) soap
How: The word is "soap". The long "o" sound in the middle is spelt "oa", as in "boat" and "coat".
Why: The letters "oa" often make the long "o" sound in the middle of a word: soap, boat, road, coat.
Grammar
Verbs and tenses
16 practice questions
Simple past tense (regular and irregular verbs)
Present continuous tense (is/are + -ing)
Subject and verb agree (is/are, was/were, has/have)
Sample question
Choose the correct answer.
Last Sunday, we (blank) to East Coast Park by bus.
A go
B goes
C went
D gone
Show the answer and working
Answer: (C) went
How: "Last Sunday" tells us it happened in the past. The past tense of "go" is "went".
Why: Use the simple past tense for actions that are finished. "Go" is irregular: go → went.
Describing and joining
10 practice questions
Compare with adjectives (-er, -est)
Join ideas with and, but, or, because
Sample question
Choose the correct answer.
An elephant is (blank) than a dog.
A big
B bigger
C biggest
D more big
Show the answer and working
Answer: (B) bigger
How: We compare two animals with "than", so use the "-er" form: bigger.
Why: To compare two things, add "-er" and use "than". For short words like "big", double the last letter: big → bigger.
Vocabulary
Word knowledge
10 practice questions
Words with similar and opposite meanings
Compound words and word groups
Sample question
Which word is opposite in meaning to the underlined word?
The soup is very hot.
A warm
B cold
C spicy
Show the answer and working
Answer: (B) cold
How: The opposite of "hot" is "cold".
Why: Opposites have very different meanings: hot / cold, big / small, happy / sad.
Reading & Viewing
Reading stories and texts
11 practice questions
Find facts in a text
Work out how a character feels and why
Sample question
Read the story, then choose the correct answer.
How did Priya and her father go to the library?
A Day at the Library
On Saturday morning, Priya and her father took the MRT to the library. Priya wanted to borrow some books about animals.
At the library, she found a book about sea turtles and another about elephants. Her father borrowed a cookbook.
Before they left, Priya saw a poster about a storytelling session for children at three o’clock. She asked her father if they could stay. He smiled and said yes.
The storyteller told a funny story about a clever monkey. Priya laughed so much that her tummy hurt. On the way home, she held her books tightly and asked, "Can we come again next Saturday?"
A By bus
B By MRT
C By car
D On foot
Show the answer and working
Answer: (B) By MRT
How: The first sentence says they "took the MRT to the library".
Why: The answer is stated in the story. Find the sentence that talks about going to the library.
Listening & Viewing
Listening
5 practice questions
Listen for details and order of events
Speaking & Representing
Talking with others
4 practice questions
Ask and answer questions politely
Sample question
Choose the correct answer.
You want to borrow your classmate’s eraser. What is the most polite thing to say?
A "Give me your eraser."
B "May I borrow your eraser, please?"
C "I want your eraser now."
Show the answer and working
Answer: (B) "May I borrow your eraser, please?"
How: "May I borrow your eraser, please?" asks kindly and uses "please".
Why: When we want something from someone, we ask a question and say "please". "May I …?" is a polite way to ask.
Writing & Representing
Sentences
10 practice questions
Capital letters for names, commas in lists, ? and !
Make and join sentences
Sample question
Which word in this sentence should begin with a capital letter?
On Sunday, I went to the park with my cousin siti.
A park
B cousin
C siti
Show the answer and working
Answer: (C) siti
How: "Siti" is the name of a person, so it must begin with a capital letter: "my cousin Siti".
Why: Names of people and places always begin with a capital letter. "park" and "cousin" are not names, so they do not.
Practise all 75 Primary 2 questions
With an account, practice adapts to your child: hints one step at a time, feedback on the mistake behind a wrong answer, review of older topics and a Primary 2 mock paper.