11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi everyone,

I'm helping a friend's daughter prepare for the 11+ this year and have just bought GL Assessment Pack 2 (this wasn't out when I tutored my own son a couple of years ago).

I'm just going through the papers myself first and have found a couple of questions that I really don't think are very good and am tempted to cross out. I just wondered what everyone else thought of these (apologies if they've been mentioned before and I've missed the thread).

Paper 6 Q12 (Closest in meaning)

(recent latter former)
(yesterday today tomorrow)

Answer is recent/yesterday.

So, this answer will contradict my advice in relation to previous practice papers that the words should be from the same part of speech (eg both nouns or both adjectives)

Paper 6 Q 14 (Closest in meaning)

(see look listen)
(hear noise sight)

Answer is listen/hear. I would have thought that see/sight were closer when used as verbs e.g. to sight a ship.

I also really dislike a couple of compound words on Paper 5:

'pigmy' (I know this is correct but it's a bit nasty as I think the more usual spelling is pygmy)

'lunchtime' (Is it definitely one word? My Collins dictionary doesn't have it but I notice the online Oxford dictionary does).

Any opinions gratefully received!!

Cassandra wrote:Hi everyone,

I'm helping a friend's daughter prepare for the 11+ this year and have just bought GL Assessment Pack 2 (this wasn't out when I tutored my own son a couple of years ago).

I'm just going through the papers myself first and have found a couple of questions that I really don't think are very good and am tempted to cross out. I just wondered what everyone else thought of these (apologies if they've been mentioned before and I've missed the thread).

Paper 6 Q12 (Closest in meaning)

(recent latter former)
(yesterday today tomorrow)

Answer is recent/yesterday.

So, this answer will contradict my advice in relation to previous practice papers that the words should be from the same part of speech (eg both nouns or both adjectives)

Paper 6 Q 14 (Closest in meaning)

(see look listen)
(hear noise sight)

Answer is listen/hear. I would have thought that see/sight were closer when used as verbs e.g. to sight a ship.

I also really dislike a couple of compound words on Paper 5:

'pigmy' (I know this is correct but it's a bit nasty as I think the more usual spelling is pygmy)

'lunchtime' (Is it definitely one word? My Collins dictionary doesn't have it but I notice the online Oxford dictionary does).

Any opinions gratefully received!!

I agree completely with pigmy and recent/yesterday. I always think of those 'closest in meaning' ones as being interchangeable, ie I went to the shop yesterday/I went to the shop recent. It doesn't work! I agree with the hear/listen one though-I can hear/I can listen.

I don't really like those GL papers-the second pack. There were some odd questions.

Lunchtime as one word is quite common, hear /listen OK

but pIgmy is not spelled that way and recent /yesterday is just plain wrong!

Whilst I also dislike this question, both yesterday and recent can be adjectives:

yesterday (adjective)
5.
belonging or pertaining to the day before or to a time in the immediate past: yesterday morning.

recent (adjective)
1.
of late occurrence, appearance, or origin; lately happening, done, made, etc.: recent events; a recent trip.

A recent morning; yesterday morning.

Y wrote:Whilst I also dislike this question, both yesterday and recent can be adjectives:

yesterday (adjective)
5.
belonging or pertaining to the day before or to a time in the immediate past: yesterday morning.

recent (adjective)
1.
of late occurrence, appearance, or origin; lately happening, done, made, etc.: recent events; a recent trip.

A recent morning; yesterday morning.

But you couldn't say recent morning in the same way that you would yesterday morning?
You couldn't say a yesterday morning in the same way that you would say a recent morning.

I completly agree with you!!

Tuyad wrote:I completly agree with you!!

Thank you Tuyad... anything else you would like to add?

Cassandra wrote: Paper 6 Q12 (Closest in meaning)

(recent latter former)
(yesterday today tomorrow)

Answer is recent/yesterday.

So, this answer will contradict my advice in relation to previous practice papers that the words should be from the same part of speech (eg both nouns or both adjectives)

Paper 6 Q 14 (Closest in meaning)

(see look listen)
(hear noise sight)

Answer is listen/hear. I would have thought that see/sight were closer when used as verbs e.g. to sight a ship.both are verbs

For what it's worth, I would just about agree with "recent / yesterday", as both imply "in the near past".

However, for the second question I would have selected "see / hear", both being verbs with a "passive" element (you can see or hear something without really paying it any attention) - as opposed to "look" and "listen", which are deliberate actions but cannot be the answer because the are in the same set.

"sight" I would read as a noun rather than a verb.

I definitely would not ever select see/hear in a 'closest in meaning question'. In an 'eyes are to (see, taste, touch) as ears are to (hear, smell, feel) yes. See and hear are not close in meaning. Aside of that, I don't like this question, as I can see why people would pick sight/see or listen/hear. But, listen/hear are both verbs, sight is a noun, see is a verb.

All the questions you pointed out are terrible and I would tell a child not to worry if they got them wrong. yesterday and recent - who set that question?! Don't think I have done that set. Bit like the man is to trousers as woman is to skirt one...