WAEC 2020 English Language · Question 95

/u:/ — choose the word that contains the sound represented by the given phonetic symbol

Question

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that contains the sound represented by the given phonetic symbol. /u:/

A.work
B.grew
C.teeth
D.bull

Answer: B. grew

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question: You are asked to find the word that contains the vowel sound /u:/, which is the long "oo" sound, as in "food" or "blue".

Explain the concept: /u:/ is a long vowel. Do not confuse it with these sounds:

/ʊ/ is the short vowel, as in "put" or "book".
/ɜ:/ is the vowel in "bird" or "work".
/i:/ is the long "ee" sound, as in "see".

Solution: Let's check each word.

A. work is /wɜ:k/. The vowel is /ɜ:/, not /u:/.
B. grew is /gru:/. The vowel is /u:/. ✔
C. teeth is /ti:θ/. The vowel is /i:/, not /u:/.
D. bull is /bʊl/. The vowel is the short /ʊ/, not /u:/.

Answer: B. grew.

Exam tip: Words with the spellings "ew" (grew, flew, chew), "oo" (moon, food), "ue" (blue, true) and "ou" (soup, group) often have /u:/. Watch out for "oo" words such as "book", "foot" and "good", which have the short /ʊ/. Also, "bull" and "put" have the short sound even though they use the letter "u".

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