All 40 questions from the Post-UTME Screening (Post-UTME) English Language 2012 Objective paper, with the correct answer and a full explanation for each. Free, no signup needed.
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I was seriously disappointed when the ___ between the two teams ended in a goalless draw.
'Match' correctly refers to a sports contest between two teams.
Children's clothes have to be strong to stand ___ rough use.
'Stand up to' means to withstand or endure something, fitting this context.
Shall I make the cheque ___ you or to your firm?
'Make a cheque out to' (someone) is the standard idiom.
The hotel ___ is at creek road.
'At which I am staying' correctly uses the preposition matching 'stay at a hotel'.
___ the main points of the lecture given by the director of the institute.
'That was' correctly refers back to a summary/point being made, in standard subject-verb agreement with a singular antecedent.
I am sure that my mother will not find out. She is so ___ that she will accept anything I tell her.
'Credulous' means overly trusting/gullible, fitting the context of someone who 'will accept anything'.
The boys are very naughty. They have started fighting again, ___?
The correct tag question for the present perfect positive statement 'they have started' is 'haven't they'.
If only I ___ insured, but I wasn't, now I have to pay a lot of money.
The unreal past conditional 'if only I had been insured' is the grammatically correct form expressing regret about the past.
Do you mind if I wait for the reply? You ___ again tomorrow.
'Will call' correctly expresses a future action following the request to wait.
The young man looked carefully at the document, but he couldn't make ___ what it meant.
'Make out' means to understand or decipher, fitting the context of struggling to understand the document.
The rise in workers' pay is truly a-----booster
'Morale booster' is the standard collocation for something that lifts spirits/motivation.
For the sake of clarity, the professor was asked to-----on the hypothesis
'Expatiate on' means to speak/write in detail about something.
The doctor did not find it difficult to----- the patient's ailment
'Diagnose' is the correct medical term for identifying an ailment.
The new riot squad was armed to the----
'Armed to the teeth' is the standard idiom for being heavily/fully armed.
The controversy has been----to rest
'Laid to rest' (past tense of 'lay') is the correct idiomatic phrase.
I want to tell you frankly that measles ---- no longer impossible to cure
'Measles', though plural in form, is treated as a singular disease name, taking a singular verb.
I don't want to ------ your morale at this early stage of the competition
'To dampen someone's morale' is the correct collocation.
The military ........ contributed ......... quota to the development of this state.
'The military' (as a collective institution) takes the singular 'has' and 'its'.
The girl who ......... beautifully in the school hall every morning as if she ....... a professional singer is my cousin
'Sings' (present habitual) matches 'will become' in describing an ongoing action as if leading toward a future state.
The class ......... into two before the teacher was transferred to another school
'Had been split' correctly uses the past perfect passive with the correct past participle 'split' (not 'splitted').
I cannot ......... the noise of the children any longer.
'To put up with' means to tolerate.
Many workers were ........... recently by the federal government
'Laid off' means dismissed from employment.
Let's go to the market to buy some food items ........?
'Shall we' is the correct tag for a suggestion phrased as 'Let's...'.
It is useless .........over a loss
'Brooding over a loss' means dwelling on it unhappily.
Rice and beans ........ a kind of food I like in the morning nowadays
'Rice and beans' as a single combined dish is treated as a singular subject, taking 'is'.
Good students can easily identify spurious arguments (opposite in meaning to 'spurious')
'Spurious' means false/not genuine; the opposite is 'genuine'.
Eze's skin now looks flabby as a result of his changed circumstances (opposite in meaning to 'flabby')
'Flabby' means loose/soft; the opposite is 'firm'.
He and his lieutenants have been accused of remaining intransigent (opposite in meaning to 'intransigent')
'Intransigent' means unwilling to compromise; the opposite is 'compromising'.
In the opinion of most observers, it was a disinterested decision (opposite in meaning to 'disinterested')
'Disinterested' means impartial/unbiased; the opposite is 'biased'.
We watch in wonder as she rattled away in that esoteric language. (opposite in meaning to 'esoteric')
'Esoteric' means understood only by a select few; the opposite is 'familiar' (widely understood).
Accountability is certainly a desirable quality in a politician.
'Accountability' is nearest in meaning to 'responsibility'.
The common practice among some media practitioners is to be sensational in their reporting.
'Common' (widespread) is nearest in meaning to 'prevalent'.
That fateful decision changed the company's outlook in many ways.
'Fateful' commonly implies momentous and often unfortunate/disastrous consequences.
The accident victim received a superficial wound from the crash.
A 'superficial' wound is a surface-level (external) wound, not a deep one.
The boxer fizzled out just in the sixth round.
'Fizzled out' means to end weakly/disappointingly after a promising start.
The manager described Mfon as a man of vehement character.
'Vehement' means forceful, strong and insistent.
Obi's dog is old but still lively.
'Lively' (full of energy) is nearest in meaning to 'frisky'.
His taciturnity amazed everyone in the court during the legal tussle.
'Taciturnity' (habitual silence) is nearest in meaning to 'reticence'.
The greatness of the creator of the universe is always inexpressible to many adherents of certain faiths.
'Inexpressible' (too great to be described in words) is nearest in meaning to 'ineffable'.
We made a pile in the business deal.
'Made a pile' is an idiom meaning to earn a lot of money.
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