All 80 questions from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) English Language 2021 Objective paper, with the correct answer and a full explanation for each. Free, no signup needed.
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1. While Mr. Ade is ________, his son is a novice.
'Novice' means a beginner/inexperienced person, so the nearly-opposite word is 'experienced'.
2. It is better to use persuasion rather than ________ to get witnesses to court.
'Persuasion' means convincing someone willingly; its near-opposite is 'coercion' (forcing/compelling).
3. The animosity between Fatou and Sheku is shocking, considering the ________ they once shared.
'Animosity' means hostility/hatred; its opposite is 'friendship' — a friendly relationship.
4. The reckless driver was admonished to be ________.
'Reckless' means careless/heedless of danger; its opposite is 'cautious' (careful).
5. The old man rebuked the thug and his children ________ him for doing so.
'Rebuked' means to scold/criticize; its opposite is 'commended' (praised).
6. All drivers were enjoined to obtain genuine and not ________ licences.
'Genuine' means authentic; the appropriate opposite in this context is 'fake', not 'substandard' or 'artificial' (which oppose 'natural').
7. There was an agitation for the ________ law on libel to be re-enacted.
'Re-enacted' means to pass a law again; its opposite is 'repealed' (annulled/invalidated), as in repealing a law before it can be re-enacted.
8. The two political parties live today in ________ after four years of hostility.
'Hostility' means enmity/conflict; its opposite is 'amity' (friendly, peaceful relations).
9. The champions were elated after the tournament while their opponents looked ________.
'Elated' means extremely happy; its opposite is 'dejected' (displeased/downcast).
10. That engineer was said to have used inferior rather than ________ materials in the construction of the collapsed building.
In the context of building materials, 'inferior' opposes 'quality' — describing materials that are good and of high standard.
11. I could not read what he wrote because his handwriting was ________.
Handwriting that is unclear/unreadable is described as 'illegible'.
12. When all the items on the agenda had been discussed, the meeting was ________.
A meeting that has been deferred/suspended to hold at another time is described as 'adjourned'.
13. Occasionally, ________ universities award ________ degrees to outstanding personalities.
'Honorary' describes a title/degree conferred as an honour, without the normal requirements or duties attached.
14. His thoughtlessness is simply beyond ________.
The idiom is 'beyond belief', meaning too hard to believe due to its extremity.
15. Many doctors have ________ to western countries for better opportunities.
'Migrate' is the general verb for moving/relocating; since a specific destination country is mentioned, 'migrated' fits (immigrated would apply when specifying arrival into a particular country from the receiving country's perspective).
16. The younger brother insisted that he should be a ________ to the account.
'Signatory' means one of the people authorized to sign/access an account or document.
17. The military was able to ________ the plan to overthrow the government.
'Thwart' means to prevent a planned action from succeeding — fitting the context of stopping a coup plan.
18. She gave her poem to her teacher to ________ for the school magazine.
'Edit' means to review and correct a piece of writing to make it ready for publication — the appropriate word here.
19. Freedom of movement is a ________ right of every citizen.
'Fundamental' denotes a basic, essential right foundational to other rights.
20. The governor granted the political prisoners ________.
'Amnesty' is an official pardon granted by an authority (like a governor) for past offences.
21. The recruits are under his tutelage. This means that he
'Under someone's tutelage' means being trained/taught and guided by that person as a tutor.
22. He listened attentively to her cock-and-bull story. This means that she told
A 'cock-and-bull story' is an unbelievable, made-up, or exaggerated tale — an incredible (not credible) story.
23. He has left the country for good this time. This means that he
'For good' idiomatically means permanently — leaving to never return.
24. The bus driver smelt a rat when an unregistered vehicle trailed him for several kilometres. This means that the bus driver
'Smelt a rat' is an idiom meaning to become suspicious that something is wrong.
25. The newly employed workers were remunerated handsomely. This means that
'Remunerated handsomely' means paid generously/very well, so their salaries were attractive.
26. The chairman has come under fire over this project. This means that the chairman
'Come under fire' means to be strongly criticized or attacked verbally.
27. The ugly incidents of the Civil War are water under the bridge. This means that the incidents
'Water under the bridge' means past events that are over and have been forgiven/forgotten, and cannot be changed.
28. My heart was in my mouth as I tried to open the envelope. This means that as I opened the envelope, I was
Having 'one's heart in one's mouth' means being very anxious/nervous, but per the given answer key, it denotes being overwhelmed and eagerly anticipating with excitement here.
29. Throughout the long argument, the minister maintained his ground over the claims. This means that the minister
'Maintained his ground' means to stick to one's position and not change one's mind, despite pressure.
30. John may be sincere, but I suspect that he has an axe to grind. This means that John
To 'have an axe to grind' means to have a personal, often selfish, motive or interest in an issue.
31. So much effluent has been poured into the stream that its water has become unsafe for drinking.
'Effluent' refers to liquid waste/sewage discharged into a body of water.
32. The students became restive after the authorities increased their tuition fees.
'Restive' means restless, resistant, or agitated — protesting against something.
33. Ali plays the guitar with great dexterity.
'Dexterity' means skill or adeptness, especially in physical/manual tasks.
34. Obi's behaviour is questionable.
'Questionable' describes behaviour that is suspicious or of doubtful character — synonymous with 'dubious'.
35. The electricity supply in this community is erratic.
'Erratic' means inconsistent/unpredictable, lacking a fixed pattern.
36. He became really disheartened when he heard the news.
'Disheartened' means saddened or discouraged — closest in meaning to 'depressed'.
37. The office has taken stringent measures to protect its facilities.
'Stringent' means strict, rigorous, or severely enforced.
38. Adaobi was appalled by the shabby appearance of the man who brought her the message from home.
'Appalled' means shocked or horrified by something unpleasant.
39. Henry likes to be involved in shady deals.
'Shady' (in the context of deals) means dishonest, suspicious, or of questionable legality.
40. A good student should be inquisitive.
'Inquisitive' means eager to acquire knowledge — synonymous with 'curious'.
41. Life in the city is ________ expensive for most people.
The adverb 'much' must come before 'too' when both modify the adjective 'expensive': 'much too expensive'.
42. My father made me ________ at home.
After the causative verb 'made' (bare infinitive construction), the base form 'stay' is used without 'to'.
43. The fireman managed to put ________ the raging fire.
The phrasal verb 'put out' means to extinguish a fire or flame.
44. The long-awaited match was called ________ at the last moment.
The phrasal verb 'call off' means to cancel or halt an event.
45. Get to work! Don't sit ________ doing nothing.
The phrasal verb 'sit by' means to take no action/fail to intervene, fitting the context of being told not to be idle.
46. We promised to tell the truth, ________ we?
The tag question must match the verb tense/positivity of the main clause ('promised' — positive, past); the correct tag is the negative past form 'didn't we'.
47. No sooner had we set off ________ it started to rain.
'No sooner...than' is a correlative construction used to show that one event immediately followed another.
48. I cannot put up ________ his saucy behaviour.
The phrasal verb 'put up with' means to tolerate or endure something unpleasant.
49. Several ________ attended the two-day economic summit.
The plural of 'head of state' is 'heads of state' — the 's' is added to 'head', not to 'state'.
50. I won't go to the cinema with you, I ________ the movie.
Since the space indicates something that has just (recently) happened, the present perfect 'have seen' is the appropriate verb form.
51. The committee has submitted its report ________ the students' riot.
'Report on' is the correct collocation (a report about/concerning a topic uses the preposition 'on').
52. It's been a rough life so far, ________ it?
The tag question matches the present perfect main clause ('has been'), giving the negative tag 'hasn't it'.
53. If I had known, I ________ not have come.
This is a third conditional (past unreal) construction: 'If I had known, I would not have come' — expressing an unfulfilled past possibility.
54. She had to work from ________.
The correct idiomatic phrase uses the definite article consistently throughout: 'the morning till the evening'.
55. He did it, but ________ the way I had expected.
'Quite' is used here to mean 'not exactly/not entirely' as expected — 'not quite the way I had expected'.
56. After stalking its prey for a while, the lion ________ for the kill.
'Close in' means to move closer and surround, as a predator does before attacking its prey.
57. Mary and Jane are always quarrelling with ________.
'Each other' (reciprocal pronoun) is used for two people interacting with one another.
58. They have been informed of his departure, ________ they?
The tag matches the present perfect statement 'have been informed', giving the negative tag 'haven't they?'
59. Although some students may be innocent, ________ are guilty of this offence.
'Most' is used for countable plural nouns like 'students', unlike 'much'/'a great deal'/'a good deal' which are for uncountable nouns.
60. She prefers singing ________ dancing.
The verb 'prefer' collocates with the preposition 'to' when comparing two options: 'prefer X to Y'.
61. Is that the lady ________ you planned to visit?
Since 'lady' is the object of the verb 'visit' in the relative clause, the objective relative pronoun 'whom' is required.
62. The children ________ in the pool after school.
The sentence describes a habitual action ('after school' generally), requiring the present tense 'swim'.
63. In spite of all their shortcomings, we cannot ________ admire them.
'Cannot but admire' is a fixed expression meaning 'cannot help but admire' — using the conjunction 'but' to mean 'except'.
64. The choice to go to the university is entirely ________.
Possessive pronouns like 'yours' never take an apostrophe.
65. The African extended family system gives security to ________ members.
Since 'family system' is a singular, non-human collective noun, the correct possessive pronoun is 'its'.
66. We all look forward to meeting the ________ musician.
Adjective order rules place opinion ('beautiful') before age ('young') before origin ('Nigerian'): 'the beautiful, young, Nigerian musician'.
67. One of my ________ is a lecturer in the university.
After 'one of my', a plural noun is required: 'sisters'.
68. Regina pleaded with her son to ________ the habit of smoking.
The phrasal verb 'come off' means to stop/give up a habit, such as an addiction.
69. Their proposal looks ________ than ours.
The correct order for a comparative modified by a degree phrase is: article + size ('a little bit') + comparative ('more') + adjective ('workable').
70. You will be none ________ for it if you take the examinations in November.
The idiom 'none the worse for' means not negatively affected by something — using the comparative 'worse'.
71. Money serves as a ________ of exchange in the modern world. This is perhaps the most important ________ of money.
In context, money serves as a 'medium' of exchange — the standard economic term.
72. ...perhaps the most important ________ of money.
'Aspect' fits as describing an important feature/dimension of money being discussed.
73. People who have money can use it to buy goods and ________. Without it, trade will be carried out on the basis of barter.
Money is used to buy 'goods and services' — a standard economic phrase.
74. ...trade will be carried out on the basis of ________ where goods or services are exchanged directly.
Direct exchange of goods/services without money is called barter.
75. This mode of trading has a number of disadvantages, as people will have to match their ________.
Barter requires each party's needs to align (the 'double coincidence of wants' problem).
76. For example, if a hunter wants to trade his meat for yam, he must find a farmer who needs what he is ________.
The hunter is trading the 'kill' (the animal he has hunted) for yam.
77. ...he must find a farmer who needs what he is trading, and a ________ who needs what he is trading.
A farmer is the trading partner sought, since they would have yam to exchange.
78. Another difficulty is determining the ________ of each item needed in the exchange.
Barter makes it hard to determine the appropriate quantity of each item that should be exchanged for fairness.
79. International trade boosts the ________ of a nation.
International trade strengthens and grows a nation's overall economy.
80. The ________ frequently used in international trade is the US Dollar.
The specific currency commonly used as a medium in international trade is referenced here — the US Dollar.
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