Paraphrasing Exercise

That's strange! My pen isn't here.

Which of the following paraphrased sentence is wrong?

• That's weird! My pen is gone.

• That's strange! My pen has disappeared.

• That's weird! My pencil is missing.

• That's unusual. Mu pen has vanished.

Answer explanation

No.3 is wrong because a "pencil" is not a "pen". So, the meaning of Sentence C does not match the meaning of the original sentence.

I felt really tired so I stayed at home and and had a rest.

Which of the following paraphrased sentence is WRONG?

• I felt extremely tired therefore I remained home and had a rest.

• I felt really worn out so I remained in my house and had a rest.

• I was really exhausted so I relaxed the whole day at home.

• I felt a bit tired so I had a rest at home the entire day.

Answer explanation

No.4 is wrong because "really tired" is not the same as "a little tired". So, the paraphrased sentence at D has a different meaning from its original sentence.

This sweater isn't big enough for Megan.

Which of the following paraphrased sentence is WRONG.

• This sweater isn't large enough for Megan to wear.

• This sweater is just the right size for Megan.

• This sweater is too small for Megan.

• Megan can't wear this sweater as it has to be a bigger size.

Answer explanation

No.2 is wrong because it states that the sweater is the correct size when in the original sentence the sweater is not the right size (too small) for Megan.

Michael is teaching Philip how to drive.

Which of the following paraphrased sentence is WRONG.

• Michael is learning how to drive a car from Philip.

• Michael is coaching Philip on how to drive a car.

• Philip is learning how to drive from Michael.

• Philip is being taught to drive a car by Michael.

Answer explanation

No.1 is wrong because it stated that Michael is the learner when he is actually the person who is teaching.

Ben is smarter than Steve.

Which of the below paraphrased sentences is WRONG?

• Steve is not as bright as Ben.

• Ben is cleverer than Steve.

• Ben is not as clever as Steve.

• Ben is more intelligent than Steve.

Answer explanation

Bright/Intelligent/Cever are the synonym of "Smart".

No.3 is wrong because it states that Steve is smarter than Ben (original meaning has changed as it is "Ben" who is smarter than Steve).

There is a big park in this school.

What synonym can you use to replace "big" if you want to paraphrase the above sentence?

When I was in school, I disliked Geography.

Which of the following paraphrased sentence is WRONG?

• I hated Geography when I was in school.

• When I was a student, Geography was my least favourite subject.

• I didn't enjoy learning Geography when I was a student.

• I was keen in learning Geography when I was in school.

Answer explanation

No.4 is wrong because it stated that you are keen (i.e. you are eager to learn) Geography. It has the opposite meaning from the original sentence which stated that you did not like Geography.

Original sentence: He is afraid of spiders,

Paraphrased sentence: He is ______ of spiders.

Identify the synonym of "afraid"to complete the paraphrased sentence.