WAEC 2018 English Language · Question 79

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

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

A.oven
B.cot
C.crop
D.curl

Answer: A. oven

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question: "cup" has the vowel sound /ʌ/ (as in but, sun). The underlined letters are not shown in your text, but the vowel in "cup" is "u", so we need the option whose vowel is also /ʌ/.

Explain the concept: /ʌ/ is a short, central vowel. It can be spelled with different letters: "u" (cup, bus), "o" (son, love, oven), "ou" (country, young) and "oo" (blood).

Check each option:

A. oven is pronounced /ˈʌvn/. The first vowel is /ʌ/, the same as in "cup". ✔
B. cot is pronounced /kɒt/. The vowel is /ɒ/ (short "o"), which is different. ✘
C. crop is pronounced /krɒp/. The vowel is /ɒ/ again, which is different. ✘
D. curl is pronounced /kɜːl/. The vowel is the long /ɜː/, which is different. ✘

Answer: Only "oven" has the /ʌ/ sound found in "cup", so the correct option is A.

Tip: Watch out for words where the letter "o" is pronounced /ʌ/, such as oven, son, some, come, love, month, mother. In such words "o" sounds like "u". Words like cot and crop have the true short "o" sound /ɒ/. Always say the word aloud and listen to the sound, not the spelling.

AI can make mistakes. Report anything that looks wrong.