JAMB 2022 English Language · Question 47

Aderonke STATED she had a right to her privacy.

Question

In each of the following sentences, the word that receives the emphatic stress is written in capital letters . From the options lettered A to D, choose the one which the sentence is the appropriate answer. Aderonke STATED she had a right to her privacy.

A.Did Aderonke lament she had a right to her privacy?
B.Did Omowunmi state she had a right to her privacy?
C.Did Aderonke state she had a right to his privacy?
D.Did Aderonke state she had a right to her openness?

Answer: A. Did Aderonke lament she had a right to her privacy?

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question

This is an emphatic stress (contrastive stress) question. The capitalized word in the statement shows which piece of information is being stressed. The question that the sentence would correctly answer must be wrong or doubtful about exactly that word, and correct about everything else.

The statement: Aderonke STATED she had a right to her privacy.

The stress falls on STATED. So the sentence answers a question that used a different verb, while the rest stays the same: "Did Aderonke ___ she had a right to her privacy?"

Concept

Emphatic stress corrects or contrasts one element:

ADERONKE stated... → answers a question about a different person
Aderonke STATED... → answers a question about a different action (verb)
...her PRIVACY → answers a question about a different thing

Check each option

A. "Did Aderonke lament she had a right to her privacy?" The subject, the clause and the object are all the same. Only the verb differs (lament vs. stated). This matches the stress on STATED. ✔
B. Changes the subject (Omowunmi). It would need stress on ADERONKE. ✘
C. Changes "her" to "his". It would need stress on HER. ✘
D. Changes "privacy" to "openness". It would need stress on PRIVACY. ✘

Answer: A. The stressed word STATED contrasts with the different verb "lament" in the question. Everything else is unchanged.

Tip: Find the word in capitals, then look for the option that differs from the statement in only that word. That option is the answer.

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