WAEC 2017 English Language · Question 3

The sick man was … emaciated that i could hardly recognize him.

Question

From the words or group of words lettered A to D, choose the word or group of words that best completes each of the following sentences. The sick man was ____ emaciated that i could hardly recognize him.

A.too
B.very
C.quite
D.so

Answer: D. so

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question

The sentence is: The sick man was ____ emaciated that I could hardly recognize him.

The blank needs an intensifier that works with the "that" clause that follows. This is a test of result clauses.

Explain the concept

The structure so + adjective + that + result shows that a quality is strong enough to cause a particular result.

She was so tired that she slept off immediately.
The food was so hot that I could not eat it.

Let's check why the other options fail:

too is used as "too + adjective + to + verb" (e.g., too weak to walk). It does not go with "that."
very only intensifies an adjective and cannot introduce a result clause. Very emaciated that... is wrong.
quite means "fairly" or "completely" and also does not link to a "that" result clause.

Solution

The sentence has a result clause: "that I could hardly recognize him."
The adjective is "emaciated" (extremely thin from illness or hunger).
The correct pattern is so + adjective + that.

So the sentence becomes: The sick man was so emaciated that I could hardly recognize him.

Answer: D. so

Exam tip: When you see "that" later in the sentence after a blank, think "so... that" (or "such... that" when a noun follows). Remember: too... to, so... that.

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