WAEC 2011 English Language · Question 92

Its about time your brother … some attention to his English

Question

From the words or group of words lettered A to D, choose the word or group of words that best completes each of the following sentences: Its about time your brother.............some attention to his English

A.pays
B.is paying
C.paid
D.had paid

Answer: C. paid

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question

The sentence is: "It's about time your brother __ some attention to his English."

This tests the structure "It's (about/high) time + subject + past tense verb".

Explain the concept

After It's time, It's about time, or It's high time, we use the simple past tense to talk about a present or future situation. The past form does not refer to past time here. It shows that the action should already be happening, or that it is overdue.

Examples:

It's time we left. (we should leave now)
It's high time you took your studies seriously.
It's about time the government fixed the roads.

Solution

The phrase "It's about time" signals the pattern time + subject + past tense.
The subject is "your brother".
Check the options: • A. pays: present tense, which does not fit this pattern. • B. is paying: present continuous, which also does not fit. • C. paid: simple past, which is the correct form after "It's about time". • D. had paid: past perfect, which is too far back and not used in this structure.

So the sentence reads: "It's about time your brother paid some attention to his English."

Tip

Remember the rule: "It's time / about time / high time + subject + PAST TENSE." In WASSCE, if you see "It's high time...", look for the simple past option. Exception: "It's time for him to pay" and "It's time to pay" use the infinitive, but only when there is no separate subject plus verb.

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