ISEE Primary 4 cheat sheet

Main idea: the sentence that covers the whole passage, not one detail; often restated in the first or last sentence.

Supporting detail questions are answered by words actually in the passage; an answer that sounds true but is not stated is a trap.

Sequence words (first, then, after, finally) mark the order of events; the question may ask what happened before or after a stated step.

Cause and effect: the cause answers 'why' and the effect answers 'what happened'; a single sentence can hold both, joined by because, so, or as a result.

Vocabulary in context: replace the word with each option and keep the one that preserves the sentence's meaning, not the most common dictionary sense.

Inference is a small, forced step from the text; if an answer needs outside knowledge or a big leap, it is not supported.

Author's purpose is usually to inform, persuade, or entertain; fiction with a lesson often points to a moral or theme.

Comparing two passages: note where they agree and where they differ; questions often ask what both passages state.

Place value: in 4,706 the 7 is worth 700; each move left multiplies a digit's value by 10.

Rounding: look at the digit to the right of the target place; 5 or more rounds up, 4 or less stays the same.

Multiplication is repeated addition; 6 × 4 means six groups of four, and order does not change the product (6 × 4 = 4 × 6).

Division undoes multiplication; 24 ÷ 6 = 4 because 6 × 4 = 24, and a remainder must be smaller than the divisor.

Fractions: the denominator counts equal parts in one whole, the numerator counts parts taken; 3/4 means 3 of 4 equal parts.

Equivalent fractions come from multiplying or dividing numerator and denominator by the same number: 1/2 = 2/4 = 4/8.

Perimeter adds all side lengths; area of a rectangle is length × width, measured in square units.

Unit conversion: 1 foot = 12 inches, 1 yard = 3 feet, 1 hour = 60 minutes, 1 dollar = 100 cents.

Word problems: identify the unknown first, then choose the operation from the relationship (total, difference, equal groups, sharing).

A complete sentence needs a subject (who or what) and a predicate (what it does or is); fragments lack one of the two.

Run-ons join two complete thoughts with no punctuation or conjunction; fix with a period, a comma plus and/but/so, or a semicolon.

Subject-verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb (the dog runs), a plural subject takes a plural verb (the dogs run).

Verb tense must stay consistent within a narrative unless the time frame genuinely shifts.

Capitalize the first word of a sentence, proper nouns (names, cities, days, months), and the pronoun I.

Commas set off items in a list, follow introductory phrases, and separate a quote from the words introducing it.

Pronouns must match their antecedent in number and gender: 'Each student brought his or her book,' not 'their' for a singular antecedent.

Revising: combine short choppy sentences with a conjunction, and cut repeated words that add no meaning.

Descriptive detail uses precise verbs and sensory words; 'sprinted' is stronger than 'went fast'.

Synonym items: choose the word closest in meaning; eliminate options that are only loosely related or too extreme.

Antonym items: look for the opposite meaning; a word and its antonym share the same part of speech.

Analogy format A : B :: C : ? reads 'A is to B as C is to what'; state the bridge in a sentence, then apply it to C.

Common analogy bridges: part to whole, cause to effect, category to member, object to function, worker to tool.

Word classification: find the category that three words share and exclude the one that does not fit.

Context clues: a definition clue restates the word, an example clue lists members, a contrast clue follows but or unlike.

Prefixes change meaning: un-/non- (not), re- (again), pre- (before), dis- (away or not).

Suffixes change use: -ful (full of), -less (without), -ly (in that manner), -tion (act or state).

Multiple-meaning words: pick the sense that fits the sentence, since the same word can be a noun or a verb.