P5 English Core Topic – Synthesis

Synthesis Rules

In Paper 2, the P5 students will be tested on their ability to combine or transform sentences. Synthesis is also a section where students should strive to achieve higher marks as each question is worth 2 marks. Errors tend to occur due to minor mistakes due to negligence or lack of practice in the synthesis techniques. Students must avoid making grammar mistakes should they aim to do well in this section.

Either…or, Neither…nor

One common question type that students make mistakes in are the either…or, neither… nor questions. Mistakes can range from placing the noun or verb(s) in the wrong position or forgetting to change the verb to its positive or negative form (when doing neither…nor).

Example

You can choose to watch a comedy. You can also choose to watch a mystery.

One common error is students writing

You can either watch a comedy or a mystery. ✗

Since the verb (choose to watch) is the same, it should be placed in front of either.

You can watch either a comedy or a mystery. ✓

If the verbs are different, then students must place each verb behind either and or respectively.

Example

You can read a book. You can also take a nap.

In this case, since read and take are two different actions, we must place them behind either and or respectively.

You can either read a book or take a nap. ✓

When facing Neither…nor type questions, students must bear in mind that neither already implies the negative of an action, hence they must remember to invert the connotation of the verbs in the sentence.

Example

The wooden crate is small and light.

The wooden crate is neither big nor heavy. ✓

Students need to know what the opposite of small and light are to answer this question correctly.

Students usually make mistakes when actions are involved,

Example

Jessie does not like carrots and broccoli. 

Some students will write

Jessie does not like neither carrots nor broccoli. ✗

which is incorrect as neither already implies ‘does not’. So the correct answer should be

Jessie likes neither carrots nor broccoli.  ✓

Direct Speech to Reported Speech

Another popular question in synthesis requires students to transform a direct speech to reported speech. Students need to change a piece of dialogue into a statement. Common errors include neglecting the past tenses, or not knowing the past participle form of the verb.

Example

“Sherry did not give her speech yesterday as she was absent.” Mr Marco told the principal.

Mr Marco told the principal that Sherry did not give her speech yesterday as she was absent.  ✗

When it comes to reported speech, there are certain grammar rules to follow, such as

• Changing the present tense to past tense
• Changing the pronouns depending on the audience (eg. When John says ‘I’, the student is not John, so ‘I’ must be changed to ‘he’)
• Changing words that indicate a close distance to far (eg. ‘here’ is changed to ‘there’)
• Changing the past tense to past perfect tense (eg. ‘gave’ is changed to ‘had given’)

The fourth point is commonly neglected by most students due to a lack to practice or simply not being familiar with it.

Hence, the correct answer to the above example should be as follows:

Mr Marco told the principal that Sherry had not given her speech the day before as she had been absent.  ✓

A variant of this type of question has also emerged in recent years, requiring students to transform a reported speech back into direct speech. In this instance, all students need to do is inverse the grammar rules of direct to reported speech.

Example

The playful boy told his friend that he had been given a lecture by his mother that day.

“I was given a lecture by my mother today.” The playful boy told his friend. ✓

In the above example, we need to change ‘he/his’ to ‘I’ as we understand that the boy is speaking from his own perspective. ‘had been’ is the past perfect of ‘was’ and ‘that day’ is the far counterpart of ‘today’.

Einstein Takeaway

Synthesis tests the students on the application skills of the core grammar rules. Understanding the transformation techniques as well as having a strong background in grammar usage will enable students to score in the synthesis component. English is a subject that students can study given the right help and strategic planning. Bring out your best @Einstein with the full-fledged synthesis-grammar course. Sign up for a free trial lesson now!