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Primary 5 English Language syllabus: topics and practice questions

These are the topics and skills of Primary 5 English Language in the MOE syllabus, with 69 original practice questions. Each topic below has a sample question: try it, then open the worked answer.

Grammar

Verbs and tenses

12 practice questions

  • Tenses in context, including the past perfect
  • Subject–verb agreement (as well as, along with, the number of)
  • Active and passive voice

Sample question

Choose the correct answer.
Siti her bicycle along the park connector when a cat suddenly darted across her path.
  1. A was riding
  2. B is riding
  3. C has ridden
  4. D were riding
Show the answer and working

Answer: (A) was riding

How:
Siti was in the middle of riding when the cat darted across, so the longer action takes the past continuous: was riding.

Why: The past continuous (was/were + -ing) shows an action in progress in the past that is interrupted by a shorter action in the simple past ("darted"). "Siti" is singular, so "was", not "were".

Sentence structures

8 practice questions

  • Conditionals (if, unless, were)
  • Gerunds, infinitives and prepositions after verbs

Sample question

Choose the correct answer.
If it tomorrow, our class picnic at East Coast Park will be postponed.
  1. A rains
  2. B rained
  3. C will rain
  4. D had rained
Show the answer and working

Answer: (A) rains

How:
The main clause uses "will", so the "if" clause takes the simple present: If it rains.

Why: In a sentence about a real possibility in the future, the "if" clause uses the simple present and the main clause uses "will". We do not use "will" in the "if" clause.

Vocabulary

Words in context

10 practice questions

  • Vocabulary in context
  • Vocabulary cloze

Sample question

Read the passage. Choose the most suitable word for blank (5).

The Garden by Block 512

Every Saturday morning, Mdm Lim and her neighbours meet at the community garden beside their block of flats. The garden was once an empty patch of grass, but the residents worked hard to (1) it into a green space that everyone could enjoy.

At first, many of their plants died because the soil was too hard and dry. Instead of giving up, the residents (2) advice from a gardener at the Botanic Gardens. He taught them how to improve the soil with compost made from fruit peels and dried leaves. Within a few months, the first green shoots appeared.

Today, the garden is (3) with bitter gourd, chilli plants and pandan. The residents take turns to water the plants, and they divide the harvest fairly. Nobody takes more than his or her (4) .

The garden has also brought the neighbours closer together. Residents who used to pass one another in the lift without a word now chat (5) over the vegetable beds. As Mdm Lim likes to say, "We grow more than vegetables here. We grow friendships."

  1. A cheerfully
  2. B fearfully
  3. C carelessly
  4. D tearfully
Show the answer and working

Answer: (A) cheerfully

How:
The garden has brought the neighbours closer and they now make friends, so they chat happily: cheerfully.

Why: "Cheerfully" means in a happy, friendly way, which matches "brought the neighbours closer" and "friendships". The other words describe fear, carelessness or crying.

Reading & Viewing

Comprehension

21 practice questions

  • Visual text comprehension
  • Grammar cloze
  • Comprehension cloze
  • Comprehension: facts, inference, vocabulary and the writer's purpose

Sample question

Study the poster, then choose the correct answer.
Where will the recycling drive be held if the weather is fine?

Bring It, Don't Bin It! Recycling Drive

  • Organised by: Kampung Melati Residents' Committee
  • Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Venue: Void deck of Block 218 (Multi-purpose Hall if it rains)

Do you have old newspapers, cans and plastic bottles piling up at home? Bring them to us and help keep our estate green!

WE ACCEPT: newspapers and magazines, cardboard boxes (please flatten them), drink cans and plastic bottles.

WE DO NOT ACCEPT: food waste, broken glass, batteries or old electrical items.

Please rinse all bottles and cans before you bring them. Leftover drinks attract ants and make the items harder to recycle.

For every 2 kg of items you bring, you will receive one stamp on your Green Card. Collect 5 stamps and exchange them for a free reusable shopping bag. (While stocks last!)

Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult.

  1. A At the void deck of Block 218
  2. B In the Multi-purpose Hall
  3. C At the Residents' Committee office
  4. D At the recycling bins near each block
Show the answer and working

Answer: (A) At the void deck of Block 218

How:
The venue is the void deck of Block 218. The Multi-purpose Hall is used only if it rains.

Why: The words in brackets give the wet-weather plan. On a fine day, the main venue is used.

Listening & Viewing

Listening comprehension

6 practice questions

  • Listening comprehension: details, inference and purpose

Writing & Representing

Accuracy

12 practice questions

  • Editing for spelling and grammar
  • Synthesis and transformation

Sample question

The underlined word is wrong. Type the correct word.
The childrens lined up quietly outside the hall before assembly.
Show the answer and working

Answer: children

How:
"Children" is already plural, so it does not take an extra -s.

Why: "Child" has an irregular plural, "children". Do not add -s to it, just as we do not say "mens" or "feets".

Practise all 69 Primary 5 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 5 mock paper.

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