Editing for Spelling and Grammar

Key Concepts

Editing tests how well you can spot and correct spelling and grammar errors in a short passage.

In this question type, each numbered line contains either 0 or 1 error. Your job is to:

1. Find the wrong word in the line, if there is one.
2. Write the correct word.
3. If the line is correct, write no error.

You must correct only one word. Do not rewrite the whole sentence.

How editing is marked

For each numbered line:

• There is either one wrong word or no error.
• You must give:
  • the wrong word
  • the correct word
• If the line is already correct, the answer is no error.

This means you must be careful:

• Do not invent an error if the sentence is already correct.
• Do not change more than one word.
• Do not correct punctuation unless the error is in a word form such as it’s or its.

1. Spelling errors

A spelling error happens when a word is written incorrectly.

Commonly tested words include:

• necessary
• embarrass
• accommodation
• occasionally
• separate
• definite

Learn the correct spelling carefully:

• necessary = one c, two s
• embarrass = double r, double s
• accommodation = double c, double m
• occasionally = double c, one s, double l
• separate = par, not per
• definite = ends with -ite, not -ate

Ways to check spelling

Ask yourself:

• Does this word look familiar?
• Have I seen this spelling in books before?
• Does it match the meaning of the sentence?

2. Grammar errors

Grammar errors test whether words are used correctly in a sentence.

The main grammar areas are:

a) Wrong tense

The verb must match the time of the action.

• Past event → past tense
• Present routine or fact → present tense
• Future event → future tense

Examples:

• ✗ Yesterday, she walk to school.

• ✓ Yesterday, she walked to school.

• ✗ Every morning, he brushed his teeth before breakfast.

• ✓ Every morning, he brushes his teeth before breakfast.

Clues for tense:

• yesterday, last week, ago → usually past tense
• every day, usually, often → usually present tense
• tomorrow, next month → future time

b) Wrong verb form

Sometimes the tense is correct, but the verb form is wrong.

Examples:

• ✗ She has went home.

• ✓ She has gone home.

• ✗ The boys were play in the field.

• ✓ The boys were playing in the field.

Watch out for verbs after:

• has / have / had → often past participle
• is / am / are / was / were → may need -ing
• to → base verb in many cases

Examples:

• ✗ He wants to studying harder.
• ✓ He wants to study harder.

c) Wrong preposition

A preposition shows relationship, such as place, time, direction, or method.

Examples:

• ✗ She is good in Mathematics.

• ✓ She is good at Mathematics.

• ✗ We arrived to the airport early.

• ✓ We arrived at the airport early.

Common correct pairings:

• good at
• interested in
• worried about
• depend on
• arrive at a place / arrive in a country or city
• divide into
• listen to

d) Wrong article

Articles are a, an, the.

Rules:

• Use a before a consonant sound: a book, a uniform
• Use an before a vowel sound: an apple, an hour
• Use the for a specific person, place, or thing

Examples:

• ✗ She ate a orange.

• ✓ She ate an orange.

• ✗ Sun rises in the east.

• ✓ The sun rises in the east.

e) Subject-verb disagreement

A singular subject takes a singular verb. A plural subject takes a plural verb.

Examples:

• ✗ The boy run quickly.

• ✓ The boy runs quickly.

• ✗ The girls was excited.

• ✓ The girls were excited.

Be careful when extra words come between the subject and verb:

• ✗ The box of pencils were on the table.
• ✓ The box of pencils was on the table.

The subject is box, not pencils.

3. Read the sentence aloud mentally

A powerful editing strategy is to read the sentence aloud in your mind.

Many errors can be heard:

• “Yesterday he go to school” sounds wrong.
• “She is good in Art” sounds wrong.
• “The children was laughing” sounds wrong.

This helps especially with:

• tense
• subject-verb agreement
• prepositions
• missing or wrong articles
• confusing word pairs

However, do not depend only on sound. Some mistakes sound similar, such as:

• their / there / they’re
• its / it’s
• affect / effect

For these, you must know the meaning and grammar.

4. Common traps with confusing words

affect vs effect

• affect is usually a verb: to influence
• effect is usually a noun: a result

Examples:

• The rain will affect our plans.
• The medicine had a good effect.

their / there / they’re

• their = belonging to them
• there = place or position
• they’re = they are

Examples:

• The pupils forgot their books.
• The bag is over there.
• They’re waiting outside.

its vs it’s

• its = belonging to it
• it’s = it is

Examples:

• The dog wagged its tail.
• It’s raining heavily.

then vs than

• then = time or next action
• than = comparison

Examples:

• We ate dinner and then we left.
• Ali is taller than Ben.

5. Plural forms

Some nouns do not form the plural by simply adding -s.

Important irregular plurals:

• child → children
• foot → feet
• knife → knives
• criterion → criteria

Examples:

• ✗ Three child were playing outside.

• ✓ Three children were playing outside.

• ✗ My foots are wet.

• ✓ My feet are wet.

• ✗ The chef sharpened the knifes.

• ✓ The chef sharpened the knives.

• ✗ One important criteria is honesty.

• ✓ One important criterion is honesty.

Remember:

• criterion is singular
• criteria is plural

6. No error is a valid answer

Some lines are completely correct.

If the sentence is correct:

• do not force a change
• write no error

Example:

• The pupils were excited about the class trip.
• Answer: no error

This is a common trap. Many pupils lose marks because they think every line must contain an error.

Important Definitions

• Editing: a question type where you identify and correct spelling or grammar errors in a passage.

• Spelling error: a word written with the wrong letters or letter order, such as ✗ seperate instead of ✓ separate.

• Grammar error: a mistake in how words are used in a sentence, such as tense, verb form, article, preposition, or subject-verb agreement.

• Tense: the form of a verb that shows time, such as past, present, or future.

• Verb form: the shape of the verb used in a sentence, such as go, goes, went, gone, or going.

• Preposition: a word that shows place, time, direction, or relationship, such as in, on, at, to, with, and about.

• Article: the words a, an, and the.

• Subject: the person, animal, place, or thing that the sentence is about.

• Verb: the action word or state-of-being word in a sentence.

• Subject-verb agreement: the rule that a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb.

• Singular: one person, animal, place, or thing.

• Plural: more than one person, animal, place, or thing.

• Irregular plural: a plural noun that does not follow the usual pattern of adding -s or -es, such as child/children.

• Past participle: a verb form often used with has, have, or had, such as gone, written, or eaten.

• Mental read-aloud: silently reading a sentence in your head as if you are speaking it, to hear whether it sounds correct.

• No error: the correct answer when a numbered line contains no mistake.

Worked Examples

Example 1: Wrong tense

Sentence:
Yesterday, Mei Lin visit her grandmother after school.

Step 1: Look for time clues

The word Yesterday shows that the action happened in the past.

Step 2: Check the verb

The verb visit is in the base form, but it should be in the past tense.

Step 3: Correct the word

• Wrong word: visit
• Correct word: visited

Final answer

visit → visited

Example 2: Wrong preposition

Sentence:
Amir is very interested on robotics.

Step 1: Check the word pair

We say interested in, not interested on.

Step 2: Correct the word

• Wrong word: on
• Correct word: in

Final answer

on → in

Example 3: Subject-verb disagreement with extra words

Sentence:
The basket of mangoes were left in the kitchen.

Step 1: Find the subject

Do not be distracted by of mangoes. The subject is basket, which is singular.

Step 2: Check the verb

A singular subject needs a singular verb.

Step 3: Correct the word

• Wrong word: were
• Correct word: was

Final answer

were → was

Example 4: Confusing word trap

Sentence:
The storm did not effect our travel plans.

Step 1: Check the meaning

The sentence means “did not influence”. The word needed is the verb affect.

Step 2: Test the sentence

“The storm did not affect our travel plans” is correct.

Step 3: Correct the word

• Wrong word: effect
• Correct word: affect

Final answer

effect → affect

Example 5: No error

Sentence:
The children were laughing loudly during recess.

Step 1: Check the noun

children is the correct plural of child.

Step 2: Check the verb

were laughing matches the plural subject children.

Step 3: Check the whole sentence

The tense, grammar, and spelling are all correct.

Final answer

no error

Common Mistakes to Avoid

7. Changing a correct line

• ✗ The pupils were waiting quietly outside the hall. → changing were to was
• ✓ no error

Why it is wrong:
The subject pupils is plural, so were is correct. Do not force an error.

8. Confusing present tense and past tense

• ✗ Last night, we watch a documentary.
• ✓ Last night, we watched a documentary.

Why it is wrong:
Last night shows past time, so the verb must be in the past tense.

9. Using the wrong preposition

• ✗ She was angry on her brother.
• ✓ She was angry with her brother.

Why it is wrong:
Certain adjectives go with fixed prepositions. The correct phrase is angry with.

10. Using the wrong article

• ✗ He waited for a hour.
• ✓ He waited for an hour.

Why it is wrong:
Hour begins with a vowel sound, so the correct article is an.

11. Matching the verb to the wrong noun

• ✗ The group of dancers perform every year.
• ✓ The group of dancers performs every year.

Why it is wrong:
The subject is group, which is singular. Ignore the plural noun dancers in the phrase after it.

12. Confusing its and it’s

• ✗ The cat licked it’s paws.
• ✓ The cat licked its paws.

Why it is wrong:
Its shows possession. It’s means it is.

13. Confusing their, there, and they’re

• ✗ The boys left there shoes in the classroom.
• ✓ The boys left their shoes in the classroom.

Why it is wrong:
The sentence needs a word that shows ownership. Their means belonging to them.

14. Using the wrong irregular plural

• ✗ The childs were excited.
• ✓ The children were excited.

Why it is wrong:
Child has an irregular plural: children.

15. Confusing affect and effect

• ✗ The loud noise had no affect on me.
• ✓ The loud noise had no effect on me.

Why it is wrong:
Here the word means result, so the noun effect is needed.

16. Using criterion and criteria wrongly

• ✗ The main criteria for the award is honesty.
• ✓ The main criterion for the award is honesty.

Why it is wrong:
Criterion is singular. Criteria is plural.

Exam Tips

PSLE-specific facts

• The Editing for Spelling and Grammar question in Paper 2 is worth 10 marks (Questions 61–70).
• There are 10 numbered lines: exactly 5 grammar errors and 5 spelling errors spread across the passage.
• Each correct answer scores 1 mark.

How to handle the question

1. Read the whole sentence first.

   • Do not look at only one word.
   • Meaning helps you choose the correct answer.

2. Look for clues nearby.

   • Time words for tense: yesterday, every day, now
   • Singular or plural subjects for verb agreement
   • Fixed phrases for prepositions: good at, interested in

3. Read the sentence aloud mentally.

   • If it sounds wrong, check:
     • tense
     • verb form
     • preposition
     • article
     • subject-verb agreement

4. Check confusing word pairs carefully.

   • affect / effect
   • their / there / they’re
   • its / it’s
   • then / than

5. Check common spelling traps.

   • necessary
   • embarrass
   • accommodation
   • occasionally
   • separate
   • definite

6. Remember that one line can be correct.

   • Write no error if there is no mistake.

Time management

• Spend about 10 to 12 minutes on Editing.
• Do a quick first scan for obvious errors.
• Then check every line again slowly.
• Leave no line blank.

Final checking method

For each line, ask:

1. Is the spelling correct?
2. Is the tense correct?
3. Does the subject match the verb?
4. Is the preposition correct?
5. Is the article correct?
6. Is this a confusing word trap?
7. Is there actually no error?

Quick Summary

• Each numbered line contains 0 or 1 error only.
• You must identify the wrong word and write the correct word.
• If the line is correct, write no error.
• Editing tests both spelling and grammar: the 2026 PSLE has exactly 5 spelling errors and 5 grammar errors across the 10 lines (Questions 61–70).
• Learn common spelling words: necessary, embarrass, accommodation, occasionally, separate, definite.
• Check for grammar errors in tense, verb form, preposition, article, and subject-verb agreement.
• Use time clues such as yesterday and every day to choose the correct tense.
• Match the verb to the true subject, not to a nearby noun.
• Learn fixed preposition pairs such as good at and interested in.
• Watch confusing word pairs: affect/effect, their/there/they’re, its/it’s, then/than.
• Memorise irregular plurals: child/children, foot/feet, knife/knives, criterion/criteria.
• Read each sentence aloud mentally because many errors sound wrong.