WAEC 2023 English Language · Question 97

Mother bought … at the fair.

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. Mother bought ............. at the fair.

A.a red expensive Japanese car
B.an expensive Japanese red car
C.a Japanese red expensive car
D.an expensive red Japanese car

Answer: D. an expensive red Japanese car

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question: This tests the order of adjectives before a noun. When several adjectives describe one noun, English follows a set order.

The concept: The usual order is remembered as OSASCOMP:

Opinion (expensive, beautiful, lovely)
Size (big, small)
Age (old, new)
Shape (round, square)
Colour (red, blue)
Origin (Japanese, Nigerian)
Material (wooden, metal)
Purpose (racing, sleeping)

Step-by-step solution:

The adjectives are expensive, red and Japanese.

Expensive is an opinion/quality word, so it comes first.
Red is a colour, so it comes next.
Japanese is an origin, so it comes last, right before the noun.

The correct order is: expensive → red → Japanese → car

Checking the options:

A. "a red expensive Japanese car" is wrong because colour comes before opinion.
B. "an expensive Japanese red car" is wrong because origin comes before colour.
C. "a Japanese red expensive car" is wrong because the order is completely reversed.
D. "an expensive red Japanese car" is correct. It also correctly uses "an" before the vowel sound in "expensive".

Tip: Remember the order Opinion, Colour, Origin, as in "Opinion Comes Out first." Any time you see an opinion word, a colour and a nationality together, the nationality sits closest to the noun. Also check a/an: the article depends on the sound of the first word that follows it.

AI can make mistakes. Report anything that looks wrong.