NECO 2009 English Language · Question 35

Choose from the options lettered A - E the one that rhymes with the word given Mate

Options

A.faith
B.great
C.heart
D.height
E.toast

Answer: B. great

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question: You are asked to find the word that rhymes with "mate". Rhyming words share the same ending sound, so we compare how the words are pronounced, not how they are spelled.

Explain the concept: "Mate" is pronounced /meɪt/. It has the vowel sound "ay" followed by the "t" sound. A rhyme must match this ending sound: /-eɪt/.

Check each option:

A. faith is /feɪθ/. The vowel matches, but it ends in "th", not "t". ✗
B. great is /ɡreɪt/. It has the same "ay" vowel and ends in "t". It rhymes with mate, as in mate, great, late, and gate. ✓
C. heart is /hɑːt/. The vowel is "ah". ✗
D. height is /haɪt/. The vowel is "eye". ✗
E. toast is /toʊst/. The vowel and the ending are different. ✗

Answer: The correct option is B (great).

Tip: In rhyme questions, ignore spelling and say each word aloud. English has tricky cases like "great" (which rhymes with "mate", not "heat"), so always match the sound. Watch out for words like "heart" and "height", which look similar but sound different.

AI can make mistakes. Report anything that looks wrong.