English Year 3 24 questions with answers

Year 3 English: a question for each objective

The national curriculum lists what children are taught in English in Year 3. Here is each objective in its own words, with one question on it, its answer and the reason.

Questions written by Remelia for the objectives of the national curriculum for England; not taken from any test paper.

Grammar

Objective: Use a or an according to whether the next word begins with a consonant or a vowel sound
Jonah passed me ___ envelope.
Which word fills the gap?
- A an
- B a
Show the answer to question 1
Answer: A · an
Why:
an envelope: "envelope" begins with a vowel sound.
Objective: Prefixes that form new words and change meaning: super-, anti-, auto-, and dis-, mis-, in-/il-/im-/ir-, re-, sub-, inter-
Add a prefix to "market" to make a word meaning "a large shop that sells food and things for the home".
Write the whole word.

Show the answer to question 2
Answer: supermarket
Why:
super- + market = supermarket.
Objective: Word families: how words are related in form and meaning
Three of these words are in the same word family. Which one is not?
- A helpless
- B friendship
- C helper
- D helpful
Show the answer to question 3
Answer: B · friendship
Why:
helpful, helper, helpless all come from "help". "friendship" does not.
Objective: Express time, place and cause with conjunctions
The villagers left their homes because the volcano was erupting.
What does the conjunction "because" tell you?
- A the cause
- B the time
- C the place
Show the answer to question 4
Answer: A · the cause
Why:
"because" tells you why. "the volcano was erupting" is the reason the villagers left their homes, and "because" comes before a reason: The villagers left their homes because the volcano was erupting.
Objective: Express time, place and cause with adverbs and prepositions
We had a picnic ___ the garden.
Which word or words fit the gap?
- A in
- B therefore
- C soon
- D then
Show the answer to question 5
Answer: A · in
Why:
"in" is a preposition: it comes before "the garden" and tells you where. Then, soon and therefore are adverbs, and cannot go before a noun like that.
Objective: Identify a clause and a subordinate clause; extend a sentence with more than one clause using when, if, because, although
Families hurried to their shelters. The air-raid siren sounded.
Join these into one sentence: put "when" in front of the second one.

Show the answer to question 6
Answer: Families hurried to their shelters when the air-raid siren sounded. (also accept When the air-raid siren sounded, families hurried to their shelters.)
Why:
Families hurried to their shelters when the air-raid siren sounded. "when the air-raid siren sounded" is now a subordinate clause. It can also go first, with a comma after it: When the air-raid siren sounded, families hurried to their shelters.
Objective: Paragraphs as a way to group related material; headings and sub-headings
Hedgehogs
Where hedgehogs ___
1 Hedgehogs live in many different places. You can find them in gardens, parks and woods.
Hedgehog food
2 Hedgehogs look for food when it gets dark. They snuffle through the grass for beetles, worms and slugs.
Hedgehogs in winter
3 Hedgehogs sleep through most of the winter. Their hearts beat very slowly until the spring.
The heading of paragraph 1 has a word missing. Write the missing word. It begins with "l".

Show the answer to question 7
Answer: live
Why:
The heading is "Where hedgehogs live", because paragraph 1 is all about where hedgehogs live.
Objective: The present perfect form instead of the simple past
"Our teacher wrote a letter to the newspaper."
Write it in the present perfect: "Our teacher ___ ___ a letter to the newspaper."

Show the answer to question 8
Answer: has written (also accept Our teacher has written a letter to the newspaper.)
Why:
The present perfect is has + "written": Our teacher has written a letter to the newspaper.

Punctuation

Objective: Inverted commas to punctuate direct speech
Which version of the sentence is punctuated correctly?
- A 'Where is my hat'? asked Dad as he searched the hall.
- B Where is my hat?' asked Dad as he searched the hall.
- C Where is my hat'? asked Dad as he searched the hall.
- D 'Where is my hat?' asked Dad as he searched the hall.
Show the answer to question 9
Answer: D · 'Where is my hat?' asked Dad as he searched the hall.
Why:
Find the words that are spoken, and check the inverted commas before and after them.
A: The question mark belongs to the spoken words, so it goes inside the inverted commas.
B: The inverted commas are not opened before the first spoken word.
C: Two mistakes. The inverted commas are not opened before the first spoken word. The question mark belongs to the spoken words, so it goes inside the inverted commas.
D is right.
Inverted commas go round the words that are spoken, and the spoken words' own punctuation goes inside them.

Spelling

Objective: Adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words of more than one syllable: double the final consonant if the last syllable is stressed
Add -ed to "button". Write the new word.

Show the answer to question 10
Answer: buttoned
Why:
"button" is said BUT-ton: its last syllable is not stressed, so nothing changes: buttoned.
Objective: The /ɪ/ sound spelt y elsewhere than at the end of words; the /ʌ/ sound spelt ou
Which letter spells the short "i" sound (as in "sit") in this word? One beat in a word, like "hap" in "happy".
"s___llable"
- A y
- B i
Show the answer to question 11
Answer: A · y
Why:
syllable: the short "i" sound is spelt y. Others spelt the same way: myth, pyramid and mystery.
Objective: Spelling with prefixes: dis-, mis-, in- (il-, im-, ir-), re-, sub-, inter-, super-, anti-, auto-
Add the prefix dis- to "appear". Write the new word.

Show the answer to question 12
Answer: disappear
Why:
dis- + appear = disappear. The prefix and the root word keep all their letters.
Objective: The suffix -ation; the suffix -ly and its four exceptions
The suffix -ation turns "declare" into a noun. What happens to "declare"?
- A Change the last letter to i, then add -ation.
- B Double the last letter, then add -ation.
- C Just add -ation.
- D Drop the e, then add -ation.
Show the answer to question 13
Answer: D · Drop the e, then add -ation.
Why:
declare → declaration. "declare" ends in e, so the e is dropped before -ation.
Objective: Endings sounding like /ʒə/ spelt -sure and /tʃə/ spelt -ture; endings sounding like /ʒən/ spelt -sion
Which ending finishes this word? Gold and jewels hidden in a chest.
"trea___"
- A -sure
- B -ture
- C -sion
Show the answer to question 14
Answer: A · -sure
Why:
treasure. Its ending sounds like "zhuh", which is spelt -sure.
Objective: The Years 3–4 statutory word list, group 1 (25)
Which word is this? What your hands did with the ball yesterday.
Fill in the missing letter: "c_ught"
Write the missing letter.

Show the answer to question 15
Answer: a (also accept caught)
Why:
caught. Watch the "a": c[a]ught.
Objective: The Years 3–4 statutory word list, group 2 (25)
Which word is this? The one you like best of all.
It begins with "f" and has 9 letters. Write the whole word.

Show the answer to question 16
Answer: favourite
Why:
favourite. Watch the "e": favourit[e].
Objective: Use the first two or three letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary
Put these words in dictionary order: wagon, whale, web, wolf.
Which word comes second? Write it.

Show the answer to question 17
Answer: web
Why:
They all start with "w", so look at the second letter: wagon (a), web (e), whale (h), wolf (o). That is their dictionary order.
Objective: Homophones and near-homophones, Years 3–4 list
Which two words are homophones? Homophones sound the same, but are spelt differently and mean different things.
- A whose and who's
- B plain and their
- C meet and plain
- D they're and not
Show the answer to question 18
Answer: A · whose and who's
Why:
"whose" and "who's" sound the same. whose: belonging to which person; who's: who is.

Vocabulary

Objective: Explain the meaning of words in context; check that a text makes sense
"The tiny seed will eventually grow into a tall tree."
What does "eventually" mean in this sentence?
- A quickly
- B by mistake
- C never
- D in the end, after a long time
Show the answer to question 19
Answer: D · in the end, after a long time
Why:
"eventually" means in the end, after a long time. Put the meaning in its place and the sentence still makes sense.

Reading

The national curriculum gives reading objectives for Years 3 and 4 together. Read the text first, then answer a question on it for each objective.

How to Grow Cress in an Eggshell

1 Cress is one of the quickest and easiest plants to grow. You do not need a garden, or even a flowerpot: an empty eggshell and a sunny windowsill will do. In about a week, you will have a crop of peppery green leaves that you can snip off and eat in a sandwich.

2 You will need an empty eggshell with the top broken off, an egg cup, some cotton wool, a small packet of cress seeds, a little water and a felt-tip pen. Ask an adult to help you wash the eggshell carefully in warm water before you start.

3 First, draw a face on the eggshell with the felt-tip pen and stand it in the egg cup. Next, wet some cotton wool and press it gently into the shell. It should be moist but not dripping. Then sprinkle the seeds thinly over the cotton wool. Try not to let them pile up on top of each other, because crowded seeds do not grow well.

4 After that, put your eggshell on a windowsill where it will get plenty of light. Check it every day, and if the cotton wool feels dry, add a few drops of water. Within two or three days, tiny white roots and pale shoots will appear. Soon the shoots will turn green and grow upwards, towards the light.

5 Finally, when the cress is about as tall as your little finger, it is ready to eat. Snip it with clean scissors, rinse it under the tap and add it to an egg sandwich. Your eggshell head will now have a neat haircut! If you leave some of the cress uncut, it will carry on growing for a few more days.

Objective: Retrieve and record information from non-fiction
How often should you check the eggshell? Look in paragraph 4.

Show the answer to question 20
Answer: every day (also accept each day, daily, once a day)
Why:
Paragraph 4: "Check it every day, and if the cotton wool feels dry, add a few drops of water."
Objective: Draw inferences such as characters' feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justify them with evidence
Why should the eggshell go on a windowsill?
- A The windowsill keeps the cress cold.
- B The cress needs plenty of light to grow well.
- C So that the cotton wool stays wet.
- D The cress must be kept away from the egg cup.
Show the answer to question 21
Answer: B · The cress needs plenty of light to grow well.
Why:
Paragraph 4 says the windowsill is where it "will get plenty of light", and that the shoots grow "towards the light". So the cress needs light.
Objective: Predict what might happen from details stated and implied
Someone forgets to check their eggshell for a whole week of hot, sunny weather. Using the text, what is most likely to happen?
- A The cress will grow twice as fast.
- B The cotton wool will become dripping wet in the hot sun.
- C The seeds will turn into eggs.
- D The cotton wool will dry out and the cress will not grow well.
Show the answer to question 22
Answer: D · The cotton wool will dry out and the cress will not grow well.
Why:
The text says to check it every day and add water if the cotton wool feels dry. In a hot, sunny week with no water, it will dry out, and the seeds need it moist.
Objective: Identify main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph and summarise them
What is the main purpose of this text?
- A To tell a story about a child who grows cress.
- B To explain why cress tastes so peppery.
- C To tell the reader how to grow cress.
- D To persuade the reader to eat more eggs.
Show the answer to question 23
Answer: C · To tell the reader how to grow cress.
Why:
The text lists what you need and then gives the steps in order. That is what instructions do: they tell you how to do something.
Objective: Words and phrases that capture the reader's interest and imagination; how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning
Why do the instructions use the words "First", "Next", "Then" and "Finally"?
- A To make the instructions sound like a story.
- B To show the order in which to do the steps.
- C To tell you how many minutes each step takes.
- D To show which of the steps are the most fun.
Show the answer to question 24
Answer: B · To show the order in which to do the steps.
Why:
Words like "First", "Next", "Then" and "Finally" tell the reader the order of the steps, so they are done one after another in the right order.

Answers

1. A · an
2. supermarket
3. B · friendship
4. A · the cause
5. A · in
6. Families hurried to their shelters when the air-raid siren sounded. (also accept When the air-raid siren sounded, families hurried to their shelters.)
7. live
8. has written (also accept Our teacher has written a letter to the newspaper.)
9. D · 'Where is my hat?' asked Dad as he searched the hall.
10. buttoned
11. A · y
12. disappear
13. D · Drop the e, then add -ation.
14. A · -sure
15. a (also accept caught)
16. favourite
17. web
18. A · whose and who's
19. D · in the end, after a long time
20. every day (also accept each day, daily, once a day)
21. B · The cress needs plenty of light to grow well.
22. D · The cotton wool will dry out and the cress will not grow well.
23. C · To tell the reader how to grow cress.
24. B · To show the order in which to do the steps.

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