WAEC 2014 English Language · Question 97

The men were charged … murder.

Question

From the words or group of words lettered A to D, choose the word or group of words that best completes the sentence. The men were charged ......... murder.

A.of
B.for
C.with
D.on

Answer: C. with

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question: This tests your knowledge of prepositions that follow particular verbs. The verb here is "charged", and we need the correct preposition to link it to the offence.

Explain the concept: In English, the verb charge takes the preposition with when it refers to the offence a person is accused of:

charged with murder / theft / fraud / armed robbery

Some similar verb-preposition pairs to avoid mixing up:

accused of murder (accuse + of)
convicted of murder (convict + of)
charged with murder (charge + with)

Solution, step by step:

Identify the verb: "were charged".
Ask which preposition goes with "charge" when naming a crime. The standard collocation is "charged with".
Test the options: • A. "charged of murder" is wrong, because "of" goes with accused or convicted, not charged. • B. "charged for murder" is not the standard usage. • C. "charged with murder" is correct. • D. "charged on murder" is wrong.

The sentence becomes: The men were charged with murder.

Exam tip: Remember the pairing "Charge WITH, Accuse OF". In court-related questions, a quick check is: charged with, accused of, convicted of, sentenced to, acquitted of. WASSCE, JAMB and NECO often test these.

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