Here are free Primary 3 English Language first term exam questions and answers for teachers, parents and pupils. The questions follow the NERDC first term scheme of work, and the answers are at the bottom of this page.

Use the paper for revision at home, a class test or your end-of-term examination. You may copy it for your own class.

Primary 3 English Language First Term Examination

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes  |  Total: 60 marks

Section A: Objective Questions (20 marks)

Choose the correct answer from the options A to D. Each question carries ½ mark.

1. Which word begins with the same sound as “ball”?

(A) cat    (B) bag    (C) dog    (D) sun

2. The ending sound in the word “cat” is ____.

(A) c    (B) a    (C) s    (D) t

3. Which word rhymes with “hat”?

(A) hot    (B) mat    (C) hit    (D) hut

4. Which word rhymes with “pen”?

(A) pin    (B) hen    (C) pan    (D) pun

5. The beginning sound of the word “fish” is ____.

(A) i    (B) s    (C) f    (D) h

6. Which of these letters is a vowel?

(A) b    (B) c    (C) a    (D) d

7. Fill in the missing vowel: c _ t (a pet that says “meow”)

(A) a    (B) o    (C) u    (D) e

8. Which of these is a three-letter CVC word?

(A) tree    (B) pig    (C) play    (D) stop

9. Which word has the short “e” sound?

(A) bed    (B) bad    (C) bid    (D) bud

10. Fill in the missing vowel: s _ n (it shines in the sky)

(A) a    (B) u    (C) i    (D) e

11. A noun is the name of a ____.

(A) doing word    (B) colour only    (C) number only    (D) person, animal, place or thing

12. Which of these words is a noun?

(A) run    (B) happy    (C) goat    (D) quickly

13. Which of these is the name of a person?

(A) table    (B) Musa    (C) chair    (D) cup

14. In the sentence “The dog barked”, the noun is ____.

(A) the    (B) dog    (C) barked    (D) is

15. Which of these words is NOT a noun?

(A) boy    (B) book    (C) cat    (D) jump

16. “My name is Ada.” We use this sentence to ____.

(A) introduce ourselves    (B) say goodbye    (C) ask for food    (D) say sorry

17. We use “an” before the word ____.

(A) ball    (B) cat    (C) egg    (D) dog

18. Choose the correct word: I saw ____ elephant.

(A) a    (B) two    (C) many    (D) an

19. Choose the correct word: She has ____ cat.

(A) an    (B) many    (C) a    (D) two

20. “This is my friend, Tolu.” We use this sentence to ____.

(A) greet a teacher    (B) ask a question    (C) introduce another person    (D) say thank you

21. Who is the story about?

(A) Kemi    (B) Mrs Adamu    (C) Ngozi    (D) Ngozi’s mother

22. What class is Ngozi in?

(A) Primary 1    (B) Primary 5    (C) Primary 6    (D) Primary 3

23. Who is Ngozi’s best friend?

(A) Tolu    (B) Ada    (C) Bisi    (D) Kemi

24. What game do Ngozi and Kemi play at break time?

(A) football    (B) ten-ten    (C) chess    (D) ludo

25. Who is Ngozi’s teacher?

(A) Mrs Bello    (B) Mr Okon    (C) Mrs Adamu    (D) Mr Musa

26. The plural of “boy” is ____.

(A) boyes    (B) boies    (C) boys    (D) boy

27. The plural of “child” is ____.

(A) childs    (B) childes    (C) childrens    (D) children

28. The plural of “box” is ____.

(A) boxes    (B) boxs    (C) boxies    (D) box

29. Which of these words is singular (only one)?

(A) book    (B) books    (C) pens    (D) chairs

30. What do we say when someone gives us a gift?

(A) Go away    (B) Good night    (C) Hurry up    (D) Thank you

31. What do we say to people in the morning?

(A) Good night    (B) Good morning    (C) Goodbye    (D) Sorry

32. Which of these is a polite request?

(A) Give me that book!    (B) Move!    (C) Please, may I go out?    (D) I want water now!

33. What do you say if you step on someone’s foot by mistake?

(A) Sorry    (B) Thank you    (C) Well done    (D) Welcome

34. A verb is ____ word.

(A) a naming    (B) a colour    (C) a number    (D) an action

35. Which of these words is a verb?

(A) jump    (B) table    (C) red    (D) girl

36. Choose the correct word: The bird ____ in the sky.

(A) flies    (B) book    (C) happy    (D) green

37. Which word tells us what we do with food?

(A) sing    (B) eat    (C) run    (D) write

38. A sentence begins with a ____ letter.

(A) small    (B) red    (C) broken    (D) capital

39. A telling sentence ends with a ____.

(A) full stop    (B) comma    (C) capital letter    (D) question word

40. Which sentence is written correctly?

(A) My name is Ada.    (B) my name is ada    (C) My name is ada    (D) my Name is Ada.

Section B: Theory Questions (40 marks)

Answer any FOUR questions. Each question carries 10 marks.

1. (a) Write THREE words that rhyme with “cat”. [5 marks]

(b) Fill in the missing vowel: (i) d _ g (an animal that barks) (ii) p _ n (we write with it) (iii) s _ n (it shines in the sky) (iv) c _ p (we drink from it) (v) b _ d (we sleep on it) [5 marks]

2. (a) Write out the nouns in these sentences: (i) The cat is black. (ii) Musa has a ball. (iii) The book is on the table. [5 marks]

(b) Fill in “a” or “an”: (i) ___ orange (ii) ___ dog (iii) ___ umbrella (iv) ___ bag (v) ___ ant [5 marks]

3. (a) Read the story again. (i) What is the name of Ngozi’s school? (ii) Write TWO things Ngozi likes. (iii) Who takes Ngozi to school? [5 marks]

(b) Write the plural of: (i) cup (ii) man (iii) bus (iv) baby (v) foot [5 marks]

4. (a) What would you say: (i) when you meet your teacher in the morning? (ii) when someone helps you? (iii) when you want to borrow a pencil? [5 marks]

(b) Write FIVE verbs (action words). [5 marks]

5. Write FIVE sentences about yourself. Say your name, your age, your class, your school and what you like. [10 marks]

6. Rewrite these sentences with capital letters and full stops: (i) my name is tunde (ii) we go to school on monday (iii) ada likes rice (iv) lagos is a big city (v) i have a red bag [10 marks]

Answer Key

Section A

1. B	2. D	3. B	4. B	5. C	6. C	7. A	8. B	9. A	10. B
11. D	12. C	13. B	14. B	15. D	16. A	17. C	18. D	19. C	20. C
21. C	22. D	23. D	24. B	25. C	26. C	27. D	28. A	29. A	30. D
31. B	32. C	33. A	34. D	35. A	36. A	37. B	38. D	39. A	40. A

Give ½ mark for each correct answer (20 marks).

Section B: Marking Guide

Question 1(a) [5 marks]

• Any three, e.g. bat, hat, mat, rat, sat, fat, pat (5 marks shared)

Question 1(b) [5 marks]

• (i) dog (ii) pen (iii) sun (iv) cup (v) bed (1 mark each)

Question 2(a) [5 marks]

• (i) cat (ii) Musa, ball (iii) book, table (5 marks shared)

Question 2(b) [5 marks]

• (i) an (ii) a (iii) an (iv) a (v) an (1 mark each)

Question 3(a) [5 marks]

• (i) Bright Star Primary School (2)
• (ii) reading and drawing (2)
• (iii) her mother (1)

Question 3(b) [5 marks]

• (i) cups (ii) men (iii) buses (iv) babies (v) feet (1 mark each)

Question 4(a) [5 marks]

• (i) Good morning, Ma/Sir (1.5)
• (ii) Thank you (1.5)
• (iii) Please, may I borrow your pencil? (2)

Question 4(b) [5 marks]

• Any five, e.g. run, jump, eat, sing, write, read, play, sleep (1 mark each)

Question 5 [10 marks]

• Name: My name is… (2)
• Age: I am … years old (2)
• Class: I am in Primary 3 (2)
• School: I go to … (2)
• Likes: I like … (2)
• Deduct for missing capital letters or full stops

Question 6 [10 marks]

• (i) My name is Tunde. (ii) We go to school on Monday. (iii) Ada likes rice. (iv) Lagos is a big city. (v) I have a red bag. (2 marks each)

Accept other correct answers written in the pupil’s own words.

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