Q&A - PSLE English

[Swc]

Eric had _________________ the opportunity to work in Canada as he could not leave his pregnant wife behind in Singapore.
(1) passed up
(2) passed on
(3) passed over
(4) passed around

Answer is (1) passed up. Meaning of passed up is to give up on an opportunity.

[zeit.]

Perhaps it's indeed ''passed up'' (albeit it's an informal expression per OALD), as ''passed over'' seems to be expressed more often in passive voice.

[Swc]

We need to ____________ recommendations which are feasible in order to solve the issue of overpopulation.
(1) put in
(2) put up
(3) put forth
(4) put through

Answer is "put forth". One put forth plans/options/recommendations for consideration

[ChiefKiasu]

Lol. Now we've become a bunch of mad linguists on the hunt for the perfect phrase.

[Zeal mummy]

The qns were passed to me by a friend, supposedly from a “PhD Edu” assessment book (or is it enrichment centre?)…no answers provided.

I should probably get a phrasal verbs guide book but too lazy…

Can check online dictionary!

[slmkhoo]

We need to ____________ recommendations which are feasible in order to solve the issue of overpopulation.
(1) put in
(2) put up
(3) put forth
(4) put through

Answer is "put forth". One put forth plans/options/recommendations for consideration

Is there a context to this sentence? I would say either (2) or (3).
"put up" if the recommendations are given to a higher authority - your boss or MD, say.
"put forth" if the recommendations are given to the same level as yourself, e.g. general public.

[slmkhoo]

Eric had _________________ the opportunity to work in Canada as he could not leave his pregnant wife behind in Singapore.
(1) passed up
(2) passed on
(3) passed over
(4) passed around

Answer is (1) passed up. Meaning of passed up is to give up on an opportunity.

Agree. "pass up" to mean "hand in" has been so misused in Singapore for so long that it now seems correct, but it's wrong.

[zac's mum]

We need to ____________ recommendations which are feasible in order to solve the issue of overpopulation.
(1) put in
(2) put up
(3) put forth
(4) put through

Answer is "put forth". One put forth plans/options/recommendations for consideration

Is there a context to this sentence? I would say either (2) or (3).
"put up" if the recommendations are given to a higher authority - your boss or MD, say.
"put forth" if the recommendations are given to the same level as yourself, e.g. general public.

That’s all the context that’s given. The kids only get 1 sentence for this type of MCQ qn in PSLE. So they will have to pick the best answer they can from this info.

I would have chosen (3) put forth and (1) passed up if it were me sitting the exam. Just interesting to get other perspectives (I did consider the other mentioned choices very close, but these are my best picks).

[slmkhoo]

Answer is "put forth". One put forth plans/options/recommendations for consideration

Is there a context to this sentence? I would say either (2) or (3).
"put up" if the recommendations are given to a higher authority - your boss or MD, say.
"put forth" if the recommendations are given to the same level as yourself, e.g. general public.

That’s all the context that’s given. The kids only get 1 sentence for this type of MCQ qn in PSLE. So they will have to pick the best answer they can from this info.

I would have chosen (3) put forth and (1) passed up if it were me sitting the exam. Just interesting to get other perspectives (I did consider the other mentioned choices very close, but these are my best picks).

I dislike these PSLE questions as well as they often are ambiguous. The sentence is supposed to give the context when it's a single sentence like that. In this e.g., it should include the words"to xxx" after "recommendations" to give context. Hopefully in the actual PSLE, they are set better.

[ChiefKiasu]

I dislike these PSLE questions as well as they often are ambiguous. The sentence is supposed to give the context when it's a single sentence like that. In this e.g., it should include the words"to xxx" after "recommendations" to give context. Hopefully in the actual PSLE, they are set better.

Yes, in a sense, it is "atas". Who gets to say what is right or wrong in language?

In a sense, language is the most accepted form of communication between people in a community, but when people get too picky on the rules of communication, that's when problems start to happen. The above statements are simply examples of cases which are regularly used in language and there are many possible answers depending on the situation. But in day to day conversations, do we really care, as long as we understand the context?