WAEC 2023 English Language · Question 80

The fire fighters worked hard to … the inferno.

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. The fire fighters worked hard to .......... the inferno.

A.put by
B.put away
C.put off
D.put out

Answer: D. put out

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Step 1: Analyze the question The sentence is about firefighters dealing with an inferno (a huge, raging fire). We need a phrasal verb that means to stop the fire from burning.

Step 2: Explain the concept (phrasal verbs with "put")

put by = to save money for the future (She put by some money for her fees.)
put away = to store something in its proper place, or to imprison someone
put off = to postpone, or to discourage or repel someone (The match was put off because of rain.)
put out = to extinguish a fire or light (They put out the fire.)

Step 3: Test each option

A. "worked hard to put by the inferno": makes no sense.
B. "worked hard to put away the inferno": you cannot store a fire.
C. "worked hard to put off the inferno": this would mean to postpone it, which is illogical. (Some people confuse it with "put out", but "put off" does not mean to extinguish.)
D. "worked hard to put out the inferno": correct, because it means to extinguish the fire.

Step 4: Answer The correct answer is D. put out.

Exam tip: Remember the pair "put out" = extinguish (fire, candle, cigarette) and "put off" = postpone. Whenever a question mentions fire, think "put out".

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