WAEC 2019 English Language · Question 119

My phone is superior … yours.

Question

choose the word or group of words that best completes each of the following sentences: My phone is superior________yours.

  1. A.to
  2. B.than
  3. C.from
  4. D.over

Answer: A. to

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Step 1: Analyze the question The sentence is "My phone is superior ____ yours." We need the correct preposition after the adjective superior.

Step 2: Explain the concept Some English adjectives take a fixed preposition. Words that express comparison with a Latin origin, such as superior, inferior, senior, junior, and preferable, are followed by to, not than.

Examples:

  • This car is superior to that one.
  • Her results are inferior to mine.
  • Rice is preferable to beans for me.

Step 3: Test the options

  • A. to: "superior to yours" is the correct standard idiom.
  • B. than: Than is used with adjectives in the comparative form (e.g., "better than", "taller than"). Superior already carries the comparative meaning, so "superior than" is incorrect.
  • C. from: From is used with words like different from or distinct from, not with superior.
  • D. over: "Superior over" is not the standard idiom here, though you may see "victory over" or "advantage over".

Step 4: Answer The correct sentence is: "My phone is superior to yours."

Exam tip: Remember the "Latin comparatives" rule: superior, inferior, senior, junior, prior, preferable all take to. If you see one of these words in a gap-filling question, you can rule out than straight away.

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