JAMB 2015 English Language · Question 46

Pass — choose the word that has the same vowel sound as the one represented by the underlined letters or…

Question

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that has the same vowel sound as the one represented by the underlined letters or letters underlined. Pass

In the original paper part of this question is underlined. The underline isn't shown here: see the explanation below.

A.earth
B.clerk
C.lass
D.man

Answer: B. clerk

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question

The word "Pass" has the vowel sound /ɑː/ (a long "ah" sound). It is pronounced /pɑːs/ in Standard Nigerian and British English. We need the option with the same vowel sound.

Explain the concept

In English phonetics, a long /ɑː/ appears in words like park, father, calm, class, grass. This is different from the short /æ/ in words like man, cat, bad. Words with "-ass" can be tricky: pass, class, grass take /ɑː/, but lass is a notable exception.

Solution: checking each option

A. earth /ɜːθ/: long "er" sound. Not a match.
B. clerk /klɑːk/: long /ɑː/ in British English (and in the Nigerian exam standard). This matches pass /pɑːs/.
C. lass /læs/: short /æ/. Not a match, even though it looks like "pass".
D. man /mæn/: short /æ/. Not a match.

Answer

The vowel in pass /ɑː/ matches the vowel in clerk /klɑːk/, so the answer is B.

Tip

Don't be fooled by spelling. Lass looks like pass but sounds different. In British English, "er" spelled words like clerk, derby, sergeant are pronounced with /ɑː/. Learn these exceptions, since JAMB loves to test them.

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