WAEC 2020 English Language · Question 70

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

Question

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

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

A.blight
B.pious
C.hatred
D.paint

Answer: C. hatred

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Step 1: Analyze the question

We need the word with the same vowel sound as the one in pit. The vowel in "pit" is the short sound /ɪ/, as in sit, bit and ship.

Step 2: Check each option

| Option | Pronunciation | Vowel sound | |---|---|---| | A. blight | /blaɪt/ | /aɪ/ (as in "price") | | B. pious | /ˈpaɪəs/ | /aɪ/ then /ə/ | | C. hatred | /ˈheɪtrɪd/ | /eɪ/ then /ɪ/ in "-red" | | D. paint | /peɪnt/ | /eɪ/ (as in "face") |

Step 3: Identify the answer

Only hatred has the short /ɪ/ sound, in its unstressed second syllable "-red" (/trɪd/). The other options have /aɪ/ or /eɪ/, which are different sounds.

The question as pasted doesn't show which letters are underlined in the options. If it was the "-ed" or "-re" part of "hatred", that fits perfectly.

Tip

In WASSCE vowel-sound questions, first write the sound of the given word, then check each option syllable by syllable. Endings like -ed, -es and -et are often pronounced /ɪ/ in unstressed syllables, as in wicked, wasted and buses.

AI can make mistakes. Report anything that looks wrong.