When will the strike be … ?

Analyze the question: The sentence is "When will the strike be ...........?" We need a phrasal verb that means the strike will be ended or cancelled.

Explain the concept: The verb "call" combines with different particles to give different meanings:

• call off = cancel or stop (a strike, a match, a meeting)
• call back = return a phone call, or ask someone to return
• call out = shout, or summon someone to action. People can be "called out" on strike, but this is not the usual way to say a strike ends.
• call over = summon someone to come closer

Step-by-step solution:

1. The question asks when the strike will end, so we need a word meaning "stopped" or "cancelled."
2. "Called back" does not fit, because you do not "call back" a strike.
3. "Called out" is used when workers are told to begin a strike (for example, "the union called out its members"). That is the opposite of what the sentence needs.
4. "Called over" has no idiomatic meaning with "strike."
5. "Called off" is the standard phrasal verb for ending or cancelling a strike. "When will the strike be called off?" is natural and correct.

Correct answer: A. called off

Tip: Think of "off" as a switch. When something is switched off, it stops. So call off means to stop or cancel an event, as in "The match was called off because of rain." Phrasal verbs like this appear often in WASSCE, JAMB and NECO English papers, so keep a list of common ones, such as put off (postpone), carry on (continue) and break down (stop working).