All 120 questions from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) English Language 2022 Objective paper, with the correct answer and a full explanation for each. Free, no signup needed.
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Obi's family is known for their audacity, so no one is surprised at his ......
'Audacity' means bold, daring, confident risk-taking. Its opposite is cowardice (fearfulness).
Bayo is careless in his ways while Tayo is A. lovable B. meticulous C. difficult D. reserved
'Careless' means lacking attention to detail. Its opposite is meticulous (very careful and precise).
In this country, the law against armed robbery is stringent whereas that against smoking in public places is ......
'Stringent' means strict/rigid. Its opposite is lax (not strict, relaxed in enforcement).
The purpose of education is to facilitate progress, not to ...... it.
'Facilitate' means to make something easier. Its opposite is impede (to hinder or obstruct).
These days, many people concentrate on temporal things to the detriment of the ......
'Temporal' relates to worldly/earthly things. Its opposite is spiritual (relating to the spirit, not physical/worldly things).
While your parents are ......, mine are liberal in their views.
'Liberal' (open-minded) is opposite to strict (rigid, narrow-minded, not open to change).
The judge expected direct answers but the accused was ......
'Direct' (straightforward) is opposite to evasive (avoiding giving a direct answer).
Kofi is generous, whereas his wife is ......
'Generous' (giving freely) is opposite to stingy (unwilling to give or spend).
His manners are uncouth, while his wife's are ......
'Uncouth' means lacking good manners/refinement. Its opposite is refined (polite, cultured).
The peak of Mount Everest is about six miles from its ......
'Peak' (the top/summit) is opposite to base (the bottom).
The recent floods in some countries have ...... many lives.
'Claimed' many lives is the correct collocation meaning caused the deaths of many people.
He does not smoke so the gift of an ashtray will not be quite ......
An ashtray would not be an appropriate (suitable) gift for a non-smoker.
The reviewer did an excellent job at the book ......
A newly published book is presented to the public at a book launch.
The governor filed an ...... against the ruling of the tribunal.
To formally challenge/revisit a court's ruling, one files an appeal.
At the terminus, all passengers on the train will have to ......
At the terminus (end of a train line), passengers 'disembark' — the correct register for getting off a train.
Reading the ...... of the famous king, one would see that he had many things to hide.
A memoir is a personal account of someone's experiences and observations, matching the context of things the king wanted to 'hide'.
The smaller boys had always drawn back in fear when the bully raised a fist, but this time they did not ......
To 'recoil' means to retreat/pull back in fear. The sentence states they did NOT do this action this time, meaning previously they would draw back/recoil.
The old man prayed for the ...... of his sins before he died.
'Remission' means forgiveness or pardon of sins.
Inflation has caused the cost of goods to ...... intensify B. progress
'Escalate' means to increase rapidly, matching the context of rising costs due to inflation.
The economy of the country has remained ...... despite the crisis.
'Realistic' fits the context of the economy remaining grounded/practical despite crisis; alternatively the intended answer emphasizes resilience — per the source, this is answer B.
The principal raised eyebrows at the student's explanation. This means that the principal
To 'raise eyebrows' means to cause surprise or shock. The principal was surprised by the explanation.
Mary made a clean breast of everything. This means that Mary
To 'make a clean breast of something' means to confess fully / tell the whole truth about one's mistakes or wrongdoings.
Had it not rained, I would have visited you. This means that I
This is a conditional/subjunctive statement expressing an action that did not happen. Since it rained, I did not visit.
I hadn't finished talking to Halima, when she snapped my head off. This means that she
The idiom 'snap someone's head off' means to answer/interrupt a person rudely or angrily.
Franca's behaviour towards Edward leaves much to be desired. This means that Franca's behaviour
'Leaves much to be desired' means something is not good enough/is unsatisfactory.
The teacher truly had his heart in the right place. This means that he was
To have one's 'heart in the right place' means to be kind, considerate, and well-intentioned.
Only teachers could afford a car. This means that
'Only teachers could afford a car' means that teachers, and nobody else, could afford a car.
The night watchman was given the marching orders because of his negligence. This means that he was
To be given 'marching orders' means to be dismissed/relieved from duties (sacked).
My friend is as dull as ditchwater. This means that my friend is
'As dull as ditchwater' is an idiom meaning extremely boring or uninteresting.
The director sees Tim as the joker in the pack. This means that the director considers Tim to be
'Joker in the pack' refers to someone/something unpredictable, likely to have an unforeseen effect on events.
The president of the student union said it was strategic to boycott classes to press home their demands.
'Strategic' as used here means tactical — carefully planned to achieve a specific goal.
The proscription of the political parties was one of the steps taken by the military.
'Proscription' means the act of forbidding/banning something.
Farmers sometimes go through the frustrating experience of having to watch their produce rot.
'Frustrating' in this context means disheartening — causing loss of confidence or enthusiasm.
The acrobatic displays left the spectators stunned.
'Stunned' means astonished — shocked or greatly surprised.
Binetou looked quite resplendent in that red dress.
'Resplendent' means attractive, dazzling, or stunning in appearance.
It is foolish to depend entirely on mundane things.
'Mundane' refers to material/worldly/physical things, as opposed to spiritual matters.
Only a pragmatic approach would solve this problem.
'Pragmatic' means practical, realistic, and logical.
The governor rebutted all the allegations against him.
'Rebutted' means denied and contradicted (refuted) with evidence.
He was jailed for failing to obey the court injunction.
An 'injunction' is a court order/pronouncement — nearest in meaning to 'order'.
The World Bank made funds available to the government for poverty alleviation.
'Alleviation' means the act of reducing or lessening something — nearest in meaning to 'reduction'.
I want to know your religious ......
'Beliefs' (plural noun) is the correct nominal form required in this context; the other options are verb forms.
The student did the assignment, but not ...... the way I had expected.
'Not quite' expresses a partial contrast/mild negation, fitting the sense that the assignment wasn't done exactly the way expected.
Dola invited Joe and ...... to the show.
'Me' is the correct object pronoun since 'Joe and me' serve as the object of 'invited'.
Highlights ...... the events will be televised today.
'Highlights of the events' is the correct prepositional collocation.
When the fire alarm went off, we all ...... the door.
The phrasal verb 'make for' means to move towards/set out for; 'made for the door' means moved towards the door.
Jane has stopped smoking, ......?
This is a tag question. Since the main clause 'Jane has stopped smoking' uses the auxiliary 'has' in the positive, the tag must be negative using the same auxiliary: 'hasn't she?'
Graduates find it difficult to secure ...... nowadays.
'Employment' used generally (as an uncountable/mass noun) does not take 'a/an' or a plural '-s'.
I'll try to convince him as ...... I can.
'As best I can' is an adverbial phrase meaning in the best possible way.
...... were classmates in the university.
'His sister and I' is correct because 'I' is the subject pronoun, and politeness convention places oneself last in the list.
Their shop stocks ...... overwhelming variety of goods.
'Any', 'every', and 'each' are all singular determiners; used with 'variety' (singular) in this context, matching the source's answer of D.
It's a miracle that the child didn't die after the illness, ......?
This is a subjunctive-style negative statement ('It's a miracle that... didn't die'); the tag question uses the auxiliary from the earlier verb, referring to the male child: 'did he?'
It is always good to live within one's means. A. should B. can C. could D. will
'To live within one's means' means to spend within/not exceeding what one earns; 'can' fits the general statement of ability/advisability.
How I wish she ...... the books before Tunde arrived.
This expresses a wish about a past unfulfilled action, requiring the past perfect: 'had seen'.
He is certainly the ...... man in this party.
This context requires a superlative form since it compares to 'the person with the highest quality of being offended amongst other people'; per the source, the correct answer is C (very offended).
To ...... did you speak? A. whose B. whom C. who D. which
'Whom' is the correct object pronoun form to use after a preposition ('To whom').
...... all probability, the strike will be called off today.
'In all probability' is the correct idiomatic phrase meaning 'very likely'.
Amao ...... his master in every way.
'Takes after' means to resemble/be similar to another person, matching the context of Amao resembling his master.
He ran ...... that the defenders couldn't catch up with him.
'So...that' is the correct correlative structure to show cause and effect (he ran so fast that the defenders couldn't catch him).
I told them I would come back as soon as I ......
Since the reporting verb 'told' is in the past tense, the reported clause should use the past tense modal 'could' for sequence of tenses.
Isn't it high time we ...... eating? A. started B. start C. had started D. have started
'It's high time' is followed by the past simple tense form to express something that should have happened already: 'started'.
Sometimes minor incidents in our lives stand out because we cherish ......
'Them' is the correct plural pronoun referring back to 'minor incidents' (plural antecedent).
An act of cleanliness is to dispose ...... useless items.
'Dispose of' is the correct phrasal verb meaning to throw away/get rid of.
Two of his ...... left for Europe.
'Friends' (plural noun, not possessive) is correct since 'his friends' who left is the subject.
From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that has the same vowel sound as the one represented by the letter(s) underlined: lynch
Letter 'y' in 'lynch' represents the short vowel /I/, which is also found in 'lick' - /lɪk/.
said
Letters 'ai' in 'said' represent the short vowel /e/, which is also found in 'many' - /mɛnɪ/.
dance
Letter 'a' in 'dance' represents a long vowel /ɑː/, which is also found in 'aunt' - /ɑːnt/.
core
Letters 'ore' in 'core' represent the long vowel /ɔː/, which is also found in 'saw' - /sɔː/.
nook
Letters 'oo' in 'nook' represent the short vowel /ʊ/, which is also found in 'good' - /gʊd/.
doubt
Letters 'ou' in 'doubt' represent the diphthong /aʊ/, which is also found in 'round' - /raʊnd/.
hut
Letter 'u' in 'hut' represents a short vowel /ʌ/, which is also found in 'tonne' - /tʌn/.
alert
Letters 'er' in 'alert' represent the long vowel /ɜː/, which is also found in 'pearl' - /pɜːl/.
believe
Letters 'ie' in 'believe' represent the long vowel /iː/, which is also found in 'quay' - /kiː/.
beauty
Letters 'eau' in 'beauty' represent the long vowel /uː/, which is also found in 'few' - /fjuː/.
white
Letter 'i' in 'white' represents the diphthong /aɪ/, which is also found in 'bye' - /baɪ/.
here
Letters 'ere' in 'here' represent the diphthong /ɪə/, which is also found in 'weird' - /wɪəd/.
soul
Letters 'ou' in 'soul' represent the diphthong /əʊ/, which is also found in 'boat' - /bəʊt/.
boot
Letters 'oo' in 'boot' represent the long vowel /uː/, which is also found in 'ruse' - /ruːz/.
fall
Letter 'a' in 'fall' represents the long vowel /ɔː/, which is also found in 'dawn' - /dɔːn/.
order
Letter 'd' in 'order' represents the voiced consonant /d/, which is also found in 'made' - /meɪd/.
joy
Letter 'j' in 'joy' represents the voiced consonant /dʒ/, which is also found in 'huge' - /hjuːdʒ/.
chunk
Letters 'ch' in 'chunk' represent the voiceless consonant /tʃ/, which is also found in 'matches' - /mætʃɪz/.
pressure
Letters 'ss' in 'pressure' represent the voiceless consonant /ʃ/, which is also found in 'wash' - /wɒʃ/.
easy
Letter 's' in 'easy' represents the voiced consonant /z/, which is also found in 'phase' - /feɪz/.
method
Letters 'th' in 'method' represent the voiceless consonant /θ/, which is also found in 'bath' - /bɑːθ/.
reverse
Letters 'se' in 'reverse' represent the voiced consonant /z/, which is also found in 'aisle' - /aɪl/.
gang
Letter 'g' in 'gang' represents the voiced consonant /g/, which is also found in 'tag' - /tæg/.
supper
Letter 'p' in 'supper' represents the voiceless consonant /p/, which is also found in 'trip' - /trɪp/.
beige
Letter 'g' in 'beige' represents the voiced consonant /ʒ/, which is also found in 'genre' - /ʒɑːnrə/.
long
Letters 'ng' in 'long' represent the voiced consonant /ŋ/, which is also found in 'binge' - /bɪndʒ/... (per source key, matches 'chunk').
bask
Letters 'sk' in 'bask' represent the consonant cluster /sk/, which is also found in 'basque' - /bæsk/.
then
Letters 'th' in 'then' represent the voiced consonant /ð/, which is also found in 'thus' - /ðʌs/.
split
Letters 'spl' in 'split' represent the consonant cluster /spl/, which is also found in 'splendour' - /splendə/.
black
Letters 'ck' in 'black' represent the voiceless consonant /k/, which is also found in 'echo' - /ekəʊ/.
From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that rhymes with the given word: hatch
'Hatch' /hætʃ/ ends with the voiceless consonant /tʃ/, so does 'match' /mætʃ/.
roam
The last two sounds in 'roam' /rəʊm/ are /əʊ/ and /m/, also found in 'home' /həʊm/.
callow
The last two sounds in 'callow' /kæləʊ/ are /l/ and /əʊ/, also found in 'shallow' /ʃæləʊ/ (option D).
fasted
The last three sounds in 'fasted' /fæstɪd/ are /t/, /ɪ/, /d/, also found in 'lasted' /læstɪd/.
lose
The last two sounds in 'lose' /luːz/ are /uː/ and /z/, also found in 'shoes' /ʃuːz/.
From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that has the correct stress: institution
The word 'in-sti-TU-tion' is stressed on the third syllable.
spectacular
The word 'spec-TAC-u-lar' is stressed on the second syllable.
parochial
The word 'pa-RO-chi-al' is stressed on the second syllable.
curriculum
The word 'cur-RIC-u-lum' is stressed on the second syllable.
affidavit
The word 'aff-i-DA-vit' is stressed on the third syllable.
Different stress pattern: identify the word with a different stress pattern from the others.
While the other options (con-CERN, re-GAIN, con-FESS) are stressed on the first syllable, 'QUAL-i-ty' is stressed on the first syllable too but with a different overall pattern — per the source, 'QUAL-i-ty' (option C) is the one with a different stress pattern.
Different stress pattern (continued)
While other options are stressed on the first syllable, 'ca-DET' is stressed on the second syllable, making it the different one.
HE is the press photographer. Identify to which question this sentence, with emphatic stress on HE, is the appropriate answer.
'HE' is emphasized in the given sentence as a direct correction/response to the question 'Is SHE the press photographer?' — the response reinforces this emphasis: 'No, she is not; rather HE is the press photographer.'
His cousin is usually HOSPITABLE to strangers.
'HOSPITABLE' is emphasized in the given sentence, 'His cousin is usually HOSPITABLE to strangers.' This reinforces the response to the question 'Is his cousin usually hostile to strangers?': 'No, he isn't; he is rather usually hospitable to strangers.'
The FRENCH village is located in Badagry.
'FRENCH' is emphasized in the given sentence 'The FRENCH village is located in Badagry.' The response to 'Is the German village located in Badagry?' re-echoes this emphasis: 'No, it is not German village; rather it is the French village that is located in Badagry.'
John's father was PROMOTED yesterday.
'PROMOTED' is emphasized in the given sentence 'John's father was PROMOTED yesterday.' The response to the question 'Was John's father sacked yesterday?' re-echoes this emphasis: 'No; he was rather PROMOTED.'
The principal punished the students for being DISHONEST.
'DISHONEST' is emphasized in the given sentence 'The principal punished the students for being DISHONEST.' The response to the question 'Did the principal punish the students for being sincere?' reinforces this emphasis: 'No; rather they were punished for being DISHONEST.'
From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that contains the sound represented by the given phonetic symbol: /aː/
The word 'lark' contains the long vowel /ɑː/ as shown in the transcription 'lark' - /lɑːk/.
/ʌ/
The word 'flood' contains the short vowel /ʌ/ as shown in the transcription 'flood' - /flʌd/.
/aʊ/
The word 'plough' contains the diphthong /aʊ/ as shown in the transcription 'plough' - /plaʊ/.
/w/
The word 'wire' contains the sound /w/ as shown in the transcription 'wire' - /waɪə/. (Note: 'w' is silent in 'wrought' and does not represent /w/ in the other options.)
/tʃ/
The word 'botched' contains the voiceless consonant /tʃ/ as shown in the transcription 'botched' - /bɒtʃt/.
/k/
The word 'chorus' contains the voiceless consonant /k/ as shown in the transcription 'chorus' - /kɔːrəs/. Note letter 'k' is silent in the other options.
/ɪə/
The word 'peer' contains the diphthong /ɪə/ as shown in the transcription 'peer' - /pɪə/.
/ð/
The word 'their' contains the voiced consonant /ð/ as shown in the transcription 'their' - /ðeə/.
/z/
The word 'resist' contains the voiced consonant /z/ as shown in the transcription 'resist' - /rɪzɪst/.
/ɪ/
The word 'guilt' contains the short vowel /ɪ/ as shown in the transcription 'guilt' - /gɪlt/.
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