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P5 Chinese connectives practice

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Singapore Primary 5 Chinese, connectives (关联词): choose the right connectives for a complex sentence — 因为…所以…, 虽然…但是…, 不但…而且… — testing the logical relation between the clauses. Everything here follows the MOE syllabus. You can try one set free without signing up, and it is marked as you go — get one wrong and the same point comes back asked a different way, so your child can push towards the PSLE on connectives. This page has 16 skill points and 117 questions.

What is tested in P5 connectives

In P5 and P6 尽管 leads our five-year count, and about twenty-eight connectives account for nearly all the items. Three pairings cause most of the errors: 尽管 against 虽然, 即使 against 哪怕, and 只要 against 只有. The sentences are complex, the blank is not always at the front, and the work is reading out a relation that is not stated.

Common traps

How to practise

Practise by relation, not by word: cause, contrast, escalation, condition, supposition and choice — six groups, with the easily confused pair in each written side by side. When answering, shorten both clauses to the briefest sentences you can and the relation shows itself.

P5 connectives · worked examples

  1. 他（　　）喜欢看《花木兰》，（　　）喜欢听古老的传说。

    • ・如果……就
    • ・虽然……但是
    • ・因为……所以
    • ✓ 不但……而且

    Why: The answer is "不但……而且" (not only... but also). He likes watching Mulan and also likes listening to old legends; the second is added on top of the first, so we use "不但……而且". "如果……就" is a supposition, but the sentence says he really likes them. "因为……所以" shows cause and effect, but liking Mulan is not the reason for liking legends. "虽然……但是" shows contrast, but he likes both, so they are not opposite.

  2. 妈妈煮的汤（　　）好喝，（　　）很有营养，小乐喝了两大碗。

    • ・虽然……但是
    • ✓ 不但……而且
    • ・因为……所以
    • ・一边……一边

    Why: The answer is "不但……而且" (not only...but also), because the soup is both tasty and nutritious — two good things added together, showing progression. "因为……所以" is cause and effect, "虽然……但是" needs a contrast, "一边……一边" means doing two things at once — none of them fit.

  3. 我认为在巴士上不应该大声讲电话，因为会吵到别人。＿＿，自己的事让全车的人都听见，也不太好。

    • ✓ 再说
    • ・可是
    • ・所以
    • ・于是

    Why: The answer is "再说" (besides). The speaker thinks people should not talk loudly on the phone on a bus. One reason has already been given: it disturbs others. After the blank comes another reason: letting everyone on the bus hear your own business is not nice either. "再说" adds one more reason, and "也" (also) near the end shows this as well. "可是" (but) shows a contrast and should be followed by the other side, but the part after the blank, like the part before it, says why we should not talk loudly on the phone. "所以" (so) introduces a result, but letting everyone hear your business is not a result of disturbing others. "于是" (and then) is used when one thing happens after another; here the speaker is giving reasons, not telling what happened next.

Decide first whether the clauses are cause, contrast, escalation or condition; get the relation right and the words follow.

Skill points on this page (16)

Skill point 1 / 16上L01·到户外去
关联词

我们（　　）带了手电筒，（　　）带了绳子，为露营做好了充分的准备。