JAMB 2021 English Language · Question 81

choose the option that has the same vowel sound as the letter(s) underlined from the options lettered A-E Moon

Options

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

A.cook
B.loop
C.pull
D.look
E.double

Answer: B. loop

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question: You are asked to find the word whose vowel sound matches the "oo" in moon. The underlined part is "oo".

Explain the concept: In English, the letters "oo" can make two main sounds:

Long /uː/, as in moon, food, loop, spoon
Short /ʊ/, as in cook, book, look, foot

Moon has the long /uː/ sound, so we need an option with that same long sound.

Solution:

| Option | Word | Vowel sound | Same as moon (/uː/)? | |---|---|---|---| | A | cook | /ʊ/ (short) | No | | B | loop | /uː/ (long) | Yes | | C | pull | /ʊ/ (short) | No | | D | look | /ʊ/ (short) | No | | E | double | /ʌ/ (as in "cup") | No |

Moon is /muːn/ and loop is /luːp/. Both have the long /uː/ sound.

Tip: For "oo" questions, ask yourself whether the sound is long (your lips are rounded and the sound stretches, as in moon, food, pool) or short (as in book, cook, foot, good). Words like cook, look, book, good, foot, pull, put all share the short /ʊ/ sound, so they are the usual wrong options. Practise grouping words by sound, because JAMB repeats these patterns often.

AI can make mistakes. Report anything that looks wrong.