WAEC 2013 English Language · Question 21

Our kind teacher only cautioned the bully and let him …

Question

From the words or group of words lettered A to D, choose the word or group of words that best completes the sentence below. Our kind teacher only cautioned the bully and let him.....

A.off
B.by
C.over
D.away

Answer: A. off

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question

The sentence is: "Our kind teacher only cautioned the bully and let him ..... " We need a particle that forms a phrasal verb with "let him" and means the teacher did not punish him.

Explain the concept

This question tests phrasal verbs with "let":

let off = to excuse someone from punishment, or to give only a light punishment
let by = to allow someone to pass (physically)
let over = not a standard phrasal verb in this sense
let away = not a standard phrasal verb in this sense (we say "get away" or "let go")

Step-by-step solution

The teacher "only cautioned" the bully, so he gave a warning and no real punishment.
The word "kind" tells us the teacher was lenient.
The phrase needed is one that means "released without punishment," which is let him off.
Checking the others: "let him by" means letting him pass through a space, "let him over" makes no sense here, and "let him away" is not idiomatic in this meaning.

Answer: The correct option is A. off.

Full sentence: Our kind teacher only cautioned the bully and let him off.

Exam tip

"Let off" goes with leniency and escaping punishment. Whenever you see words like cautioned, warned, or forgave in a sentence, think of "let off." Learn common phrasal verbs in groups, for example: let down (disappoint), let in (admit), let out (release), let off (excuse from punishment).

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