WAEC 2017 English Language · Question 93

bit — choose the word that has the same vowel sound(s) as the one represented by the letter(s) underlined

Question

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that has the same vowel sound(s) as the one represented by the letter(s) underlined. bit

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

A.slip
B.pint
C.sleek
D.crime

Answer: A. slip

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question: We need the word whose vowel sound matches the vowel in "bit". (The underlined part isn't shown, but the vowel in "bit" is the focus.)

Concept: The vowel in "bit" is the short vowel /ɪ/. English has pairs of short and long vowel sounds, so we must not confuse /ɪ/ with /iː/ (as in "beat") or with the diphthong /aɪ/ (as in "bite").

Step-by-step solution:

bit → /bɪt/ → vowel /ɪ/
A. slip → /slɪp/ → vowel /ɪ/ ✔ (same sound)
B. pint → /paɪnt/ → vowel /aɪ/ ✘ (an irregular spelling, since "i" here is a diphthong)
C. sleek → /sliːk/ → vowel /iː/ ✘ (long vowel)
D. crime → /kraɪm/ → vowel /aɪ/ ✘ (diphthong)

Answer: Only slip has the short /ɪ/ sound, the same as "bit".

Tip: In sound-matching questions, write the phonetic sound of the given word first, then check each option's sound, not its spelling. Watch out for tricky words like "pint" (spelled with "i" but pronounced /aɪ/). Remember: short /ɪ/ is in bit, slip, sit, ship; long /iː/ is in beat, sleek, seat, sheep.

AI can make mistakes. Report anything that looks wrong.