JAMB Use of English 2016 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2016 JAMB Use of English paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 61 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

JAMB Use of English 2016 questions and answers

1.
For this question, choose the option opposite in meaning to the word or phrase in italics:
He walks in a gawky way.
1. A
  confident
2. B
  awkward
3. C
  clumsy
4. D
  graceful
  Correct
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Answer: D
Gawky means awkward, clumsy, or ungainly in movement or posture — like someone who walks stiffly or without coordination.
The word opposite in meaning to "gawky" is graceful, which describes smooth, elegant, well-coordinated movement — the direct opposite of a gawky walk.
2.
The words in capital letters have the emphatic stress. Choose the option to which the given sentence relates.
The car CRUSHED him.
1. A
  It was the car, and not another vehicle, that hit him
2. B
  It was him, and not someone else, that the car hit
3. C
  The car crushed him then, and not at some other time
4. D
  The car actually crushed him, and did not merely injure him
  Correct
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Answer: D
The capitalised word CRUSHED carries the emphatic stress in the sentence.
Stressing the verb confirms that the action itself is being emphasised, meaning the car really did crush him, not merely hit or injure him.
The wrong options misplace the stress on the subject (the car), the object (him), or a time reference, none of which is capitalised in the sentence.
3.
Boxing is sometimes called' the noble art of self defence'. According to some people, boxing appeals to the lowest instincts in the ...11... who have come to watch blood flow and their fellow human suffer Boxers who are medically fit appear in the ...12... The referee sometimes allows the...13... to go on for long so that one of the ...14... is reduced to a human punch bag.It may happen that the boxers are not well ...15... one being much stronger than the other, as a result of which he so much...16... his opponent that he wins ...17... Many boxers have suffered permanent brain...18... in the ...19... of punches that have been thrown at them during their ...20...
Choose the most appropriate option for the gap labelled [...12...] above.
1. A
  ring
  Correct
2. B
  stadium
3. C
  court
4. D
  arena
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Answer: A
ring is correct. In boxing, the fitness-cleared boxers step into the "ring" — the roped square platform where the bout takes place. This is the standard collocation with "boxers... appear in the ___" in the context of the passage, which is about boxing matches, referees, and punches.
4.
Boxing is sometimes called' the noble art of self defence'. According to some people, boxing appeals to the lowest instincts in the ...11... who have come to watch blood flow and their fellow human suffer Boxers who are medically fit appear in the ...12... The referee sometimes allows the...13... to go on for long so that one of the ...14... is reduced to a human punch bag.It may happen that the boxers are not well ...15... one being much stronger than the other, as a result of which he so much...16... his opponent that he wins ...17... Many boxers have suffered permanent brain...18... in the ...19... of punches that have been thrown at them during their ...20...
Choose the most appropriate option for the gap labelled [...18...] above.
1. A
  injury
2. B
  damage
  Correct
3. C
  deficiency
4. D
  disorder
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Answer: B
Correct: damage — "permanent brain damage" is the standard, idiomatic English collocation for lasting harm caused to the brain by repeated blows, exactly the situation described: boxers "reduced to a human punch bag" by punches thrown during their bouts. The sentence needs a noun meaning lasting harm, and "damage" is that word.
5.
For these questions, choose the option that best complete the gap(s):
The doctor listened to my heartbeat with a _______.
1. A
  thermometer
2. B
  stethoscope
  Correct
3. C
  sphygmomanometer
4. D
  syringe
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Answer: B
Stethoscope is correct. A stethoscope is the medical instrument doctors use to listen to sounds inside the body, such as the heartbeat, breathing, or blood flow, by placing its earpieces in the ears and its diaphragm on the patient's chest.
6.
For these questions, choose the option that best complete the gap(s):
With strong determination, Adamu was able to_______the problem.
1. A
  get round
2. B
  get through
3. C
  get over
  Correct
4. D
  get across
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Answer: C
get over the problem is correct. The phrasal verb "get over" means to overcome or successfully deal with a difficulty. Since Adamu showed "strong determination", the sentence is telling us he was able to overcome the problem — exactly what "get over" expresses.
7.
For this question, select the option that best explains the information conveyed in the question.
Olu and Ado are about to come to blows.
1. A
  Olu and Ado are about to settle their quarrel amicably
2. B
  Olu and Ado are about to be flogged with canes
3. C
  Olu and Ado are about to fight each other physically
  Correct
4. D
  Olu and Ado are engaged in a serious verbal argument
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Answer: C
The idiom "come to blows" means to start hitting or physically fighting one another, usually because a disagreement has become so heated that words are no longer enough. So "Olu and Ado are about to come to blows" simply means they are about to fight each other physically.
8.
For these questions, choose the most appropriate stress pattern from the options. The Stressed syllable are written in capital letter (s):
obligation
1. A
  ob-li-ga-TION
2. B
  OB-li-ga-tion
3. C
  ob-li-GA-tion
  Correct
4. D
  ob-LI-ga-tion
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Answer: C
The word obligation divides into four syllables: ob-li-ga-tion.
The primary (main) stress falls on the third syllable, so it is written as ob-li-GA-tion. Say it aloud: "ob-li-GAY-shun" — the stress clearly lands on "ga".
So the correct stress pattern is ob-li-GA-tion.
9.
For this question, select the option that best explains the information conveyed in the question.
The students were nosing around.
1. A
  The students were prying inquisitively into other people's affairs
  Correct
2. B
  The students were walking about with their heads held high in pride
3. C
  The students were sniffing at an unpleasant smell nearby
4. D
  The students arrived at the venue exactly on schedule
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Answer: A
"To nose around" is an idiom that means to search, pry or snoop into something inquisitively or secretively, usually without being invited to do so. So "The students were nosing around" tells us that the students were prying inquisitively into other people's affairs — this is the correct meaning.
The other options come from mixing up similar-sounding expressions or reading the sentence too literally:
Sniffing at an unpleasant smell takes "nose" in its literal, physical sense, but the idiom "nose around" has nothing to do with actual smelling.
10.
Boxing is sometimes called' the noble art of self defence'. According to some people, boxing appeals to the lowest instincts in the ...11... who have come to watch blood flow and their fellow human suffer Boxers who are medically fit appear in the ...12... The referee sometimes allows the...13... to go on for long so that one of the ...14... is reduced to a human punch bag.It may happen that the boxers are not well ...15... one being much stronger than the other, as a result of which he so much...16... his opponent that he wins ...17... Many boxers have suffered permanent brain...18... in the ...19... of punches that have been thrown at them during their ...20...
Choose the most appropriate option for the gap labelled [...16...] above.
1. A
  undermines
2. B
  outclasses
3. C
  manhandles
4. D
  overpowers
  Correct
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Answer: D
The sentence reads: "...one being much stronger than the other, as a result of which he so much ...16... his opponent that he wins ...17..."

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

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JAMB Use of English 2016 past questions

JAMB Use of English 2016 questions and answers

Practise all 61 questions we hold from the 2016 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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