WAEC 2023 English Language · Question 14

The woman bought a CARTON of milk.

Question

In each of the following sentences, the word that receives the emphatic stress is written in Captital letters. Choose the option to which the given sentence is the appropriate answer. The woman bought a CARTON of milk.

A.Did the woman buy a tin of milk?
B.Did the woman sell a carton of milk?
C.Did the man buy a carton of milk?
D.Did the woman buy a carton of fish?

Answer: A. Did the woman buy a tin of milk?

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Step 1: Analyze the question

Emphatic stress falls on the word that carries the new or corrective information. The sentence "The woman bought a CARTON of milk" stresses carton, so it answers a question that asked about the container or quantity (carton vs. something else).

Step 2: The concept

The stressed word in the answer corrects or confirms the matching word in the question. The question must therefore contain a different or doubted item in that same position:

Stress on WOMAN: answers "Did the man buy...?"
Stress on BOUGHT: answers "Did the woman sell...?"
Stress on CARTON: answers "Did the woman buy a tin of milk?"
Stress on MILK: answers "Did the woman buy a carton of fish?"

Step 3: Check each option

A. "Did the woman buy a tin of milk?" The doubted item is tin (the container). The answer "a CARTON of milk" corrects it. ✔
B. "Did the woman sell...?" This would need stress on BOUGHT. ✘
C. "Did the man buy...?" This would need stress on WOMAN. ✘
D. "...a carton of fish?" This would need stress on MILK. ✘

Step 4: Answer

Exam tip: Find the capitalised word, then look for the option where that exact position has a different word. The stressed word always replaces the wrong item in the question.

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