KS2 SATs KS2 English Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence is in the present perfect tense?
- I eat my dinner.
- I was eating my dinner.
- I have eaten my dinner. (Correct answer)
- I will eat my dinner.
Correct answer: I have eaten my dinner.
The present perfect tense uses 'have' or 'has' with a past participle. 'I have eaten' shows an action completed at some point before now and uses 'have' + 'eaten'.
Question 2: Which word is an antonym of 'ancient'?
- Old
- Historic
- Modern (Correct answer)
- Crumbling
Correct answer: Modern
An antonym is a word with the opposite meaning. 'Modern' means new or contemporary, making it the opposite of 'ancient', which means very old.
Question 3: What is the function of a semicolon?
- To introduce a list
- To show ownership
- To join two closely related main clauses (Correct answer)
- To indicate a pause shorter than a comma
Correct answer: To join two closely related main clauses
A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction. For example: 'It was hot; we decided to swim.' Both clauses could stand alone as sentences.
Question 4: Which word contains a silent letter?
- jump
- clock
- knife (Correct answer)
- step
Correct answer: knife
'Knife' contains the silent letter 'k'. In English, 'kn-' at the start of a word has a silent 'k', as in 'know', 'kneel', 'knock', and 'knight'.
Question 5: Identify the subordinating conjunction: 'She stayed inside because it was cold.'
- stayed
- inside
- because (Correct answer)
- cold
Correct answer: because
'Because' is a subordinating conjunction that introduces a subordinate clause ('it was cold') and connects it to the main clause. Other subordinating conjunctions include 'although', 'since', and 'when'.
Question 6: Which word is spelled correctly?
- comittee
- committie
- committee (Correct answer)
- commitee
Correct answer: committee
'Committee' is the correct spelling, with double 'm', double 't', and double 'e'. It is one of the Year 5/6 statutory spelling words that pupils are expected to know.
KS2 SATs KS2 English Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling 4
Which sentence is in the present perfect tense?