Primary
KEY FACTS
CFER: N/A
Guided learning hours: 50-75
Pass marks: Refer:<50%; Pass: 50-64%; Merit: 65-79%; Distinction: 80%+
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What does the Primary STEP test?
- About 400 words (the First STEP and Junior words plus 200 more) in familiar categories like jobs, feelings, weather
- How to make questions and answers
- How to say you can and can’t do things
- How to say you’ve got things, like things, haven’t got things and don’t like things
- How to say the time and describe when things happen
- Understanding messages
What does the learner have to do in their Primary exam?
- Read and choose answers
- Match words
- Fill in gaps
- Write some words and phrases
Student performance indicators
- Has a basic active vocabulary of about 300 words
- Can tell the time
- Can describe present actions, give personal and family information, describe habits, routines, and everyday activities
- Can communicate when and how often an action or event takes place
- Can form questions and negatives
Grammar and structures list
Grammar and Structure |
What are they used for? |
Some examples |
|
| VERBS | |||
| There is/ there are | Identifying something/ someone | There is a book on the table. There are four girls in the kitchen. |
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| Present simple | Talking about habits, routines, facts (Such as where a person lives), the actions of everyday life | My uncle lives in a small house. She is thirteen years old. I always take the bus to school |
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| The present simple with the verb 'like' + 'ing' in the third person singular and plural | Describing what people or animals like doing |
My cat likes sleeping in the garden. |
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| Present continuous | Talking about the present actions | My brothers are playing football in the park at the moment. | |
| Interrogative forms of the above two tenses | Asking and answering questions about the above |
Do they often go to the cinema? |
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| Negative forms of the above two tenses | Making the above negative | Sure doesn't like dogs. John isn't studying now, he is talking on the phone. |
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| The modal 'can' | Describing an ability or skill |
He can play the guitar. |
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| PRONOUNS | |||
| All personal pronouns as subject or object - I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, you, him, her, it, us, them | Describing and identifying people, animals and objects |
Do you want my father? |
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| Demonstrative pronouns - this, these, that, those | Asking for, and giving information | These are tables. That family is rich Is this a kettle? |
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| CONJUNCTIONS | |||
| because, and, or, but | Linking sentence parts and ideas | John and Mary are in the garden because it is sunny. | |
| INTERROGATIVE WORDS | |||
| What, Who, Where, When, Why, How many | Asking questions about people, animals and objects |
What is this? |
|
| ADVERBS | |||
| Adverbs of time - today, now, at the moment Adverbs of frequency - always, never, sometimes, often, usually, every day, every week, every month |
Describing when and how often someone does something or something happens. Discriminating between the present continuous and the present simple |
I usually eat an egg for breakfast. |
|
| PREPOSITIONS | |||
| in, on, at, to | Talking about time, place, position | The examination finishes at 4 pm. My brother is 10 years old in August. I am going to Disney World on 1st August. |
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| TIME EXPRESSIONS | |||
| 10.15 = ten fifteen or (a) quarter past ten | Telling the time | ten fifteen, twenty past one, half past ten, a quarter to two, eleven forty-five, etc. | |
| NOUNS | |||
| Singular/plural simple nouns, including some common irregular ones. Countable and uncountable nouns. The names of common shapes. |
Talking about numbers of things Talking about amounts and quantities Describing the shape of something |
eg book-books, box-boxes, man-men, woman-women, child-children, party-parties |
|
| SALUTATIONS (WRITING) | |||
| The formulaic salutation of information writing in messages such as emails, postcards | Written communication |
Dear |
|
Word List
NOUNS |
SET OF LEXICAL ITEMS |
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| Clothes | dress, shirt, T-shirt, trousers, skirt, boots, socks, trainers, hat, watch jeans, jacket, tie, coat |
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| Food, meals and drink | cake, Ice-cream, biscuits, pizza, hamburger, hot-dog, omelette, steak, fish, salad, breakfast, lunch, dinner, milk, juice bread, tea, coffee, water ,lemonade, egg, chicken, sandwich, sugar, ketchup, chips, cheese, sweets, butter |
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| Birds | penguin, parrot, duck hen, chicken |
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| Jobs | teacher, doctor, farmer, secretary, businessman/woman, policeman/woman, shop assistant, in the army, student |
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| School | pen, pencil, rubber, ruler, book, desk, computer, blackboard, classroom, bag, friends teacher, homework, work, test, exam, student, lesson |
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| Transport | helicopter, boat, bus, bicycle, car, train, aeroplane taxi, bike, motor bicycle, motorbike, tractor, lorry (Brit), truck (Amer) |
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| Animals |
monkey, lion, bear, elephant, crocodile, cat, dog, snake, tiger, zebra, rabbit, mouse |
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| Household |
television, video, chair, table, house, cassette-player, bed, bath, clock, picture, vase, photo, radio, door, mat, window, floor, cupboard |
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| Kitchen |
glass, plate, bowl, cup, knife, fork |
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| Vegetables | potato, tomato, carrot cabbage |
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| Fruit | pear, peach, apple, banana, orange, lemon cherry, strawberry, melon |
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| Fish | dolphin, octopus, shark, whale, starfish, fish goldfish |
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| Garden | flower, tree, grass |
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| Days of the week | day, week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday weekend |
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| Months of the year | January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, October, November, December |
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| Sports | football, tennis, swimming, basketball, volleyball baseball, fishing, football match, tennis racket, running |
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| Places | park, garden, home, school, shop, house, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room zoo, farm, supermarket, office, cinema, cafe, restaurant, car park, flat, swimming pool, town centre, beach, sea, mountains, town, city, village, fields, country (e.g. England etc.), countryside |
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| Musical instruments | guitar, piano, drum |
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| Toys | ball, kite, castle, soldiers, paint, paintbrush, puppet, drum, gun |
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| Weather | sun, rain, wind, snow, hot, cold |
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| Parts of the body | hair, eyes, mouth, face, arms, legs, foot/feet, head, hands |
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| Letters | a-z |
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| Cardinal numbers | one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty twenty-one to sixty |
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| Time expressions | four fifteen, [a] quarter past/to four, half past four, ten past four, etc. morning, evening, today |
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| Exams | letters, words, sentence, question, answer, story |
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| Family members and people | mother, father, brother, sister, baby, girl, boy, children aunt, uncle, cousin, grandmother, grandfather, Mum, Dad, man, woman, friend |
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| Shapes | square, circle, triangle, rectangle |
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| Miscellaneous | film, newspaper, magazine, star, moon, thing | ||
|
|
SETS OF LEXICAL ITEMS |
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| Size | tall, short, big, small, favourite, best, little | ||
| Feelings | happy, sad | ||
| Colours | black, blue, green, yellow, white, orange, red, grey, brown, pink, purple | ||
| Age | old, young, new | ||
| Other | clever, nice, good | ||
| Modifiers | Very | ||
| VERBS | watch, play, listen, cook, wear, go ,red, write, eat, drink, sit, stand, have, has, us, are, am, live, work, walk, run, sleep, ride, drive, make, do, understand, want, like, can, swim, look, have/as got, get up, start, talk, buy, tell, clean, wash |
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| ARTICLES |
a, an, the |
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| PERSONAL PRONOUNS | I, you, he, she, it, we, they me, him, them, us |
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| POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES | my, your, his, her, our, their |
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| PREPOSITIONS | in, under, behind, on, near, in front of, at, to, (by, about, for - may appear in certain expressions; not tested) |
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| QUESTION WORDS | What, When, Why, Where, Who, Whose |
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| ADVERBS | today, now, at the moment, never, always, sometimes, often, usually, every day, every week |
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| CONJUNCTIONS | because, and, or, then, next |
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| DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS | this, that, these, those | ||
