WAEC 2016 English Language · Question 26

The road which used to be wide now appears … because of the new drainage.

Question

In each of the following sentence, there is one underlined word and one gap. from the list of words lettered A to D, choose the one that is most nearly opposite in meaning in the underlined word and that will at the same time, correctly fill the gap in the sentence. The road which used to be wide now appears.......because of the new drainage.

In the original paper part of this question is underlined. The underline isn't shown here: see the explanation below.

A.Widing
B.Limited
C.Narrow
D.Reduced

Answer: C. Narrow

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question

The underlined word is "wide" (in "used to be wide"). You need a word that:

Is most nearly opposite in meaning to "wide", and
Fits the gap grammatically: "The road ... now appears __ because of the new drainage."

Concept

This is an antonym-in-context question. The opposite of wide is narrow. The word must also work after "appears", which takes an adjective.

Solution

A. Widing – This is not a real English word, and it is not an opposite of wide.
B. Limited – This relates to restriction, not physical width. It is not a true antonym, and "appears limited" does not suit a road.
C. Narrow – This is the direct opposite of wide, and "The road now appears narrow because of the new drainage" makes sense. The drainage takes up space beside the road, so it looks narrower.
D. Reduced – This suggests something made smaller, but it is not the direct antonym of "wide". It is also weaker in meaning than "narrow".

Answer: C. Narrow.

Tip

In antonym questions, first find the direct opposite of the underlined word (wide ↔ narrow). Then check that the word fits the sentence grammatically. Be careful with options like "reduced" or "limited". They sound related but are not true opposites.

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