JAMB Use of English 2021 past questions
Ten questions from the 2021 JAMB Use of English paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 67 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.
JAMB Use of English 2021 questions and answers
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1.
choose the most appropriate option nearest in meaning to the word(s) underlined.
He maintained that Nigerians need a leader with an iron fist
- Adiplomacy
- Bflexibility
- CsternnessCorrect
- Dphysical power
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Answer: C
The underlined expression "iron fist" is an idiom describing a leadership style that is strict, forceful and uncompromising — someone who rules with firm, unyielding authority.
Sternness is nearest in meaning, because it captures that same sense of strict, harsh firmness that "iron fist" conveys about how the leader would govern.
- A
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2.
choose the option nearly opposite in meaning to the word(s) underlined
The soldiers were remorseful for their inhuman treatment of the civilians.
- Aapologetic
- BimpenitentCorrect
- Cpenitent
- Dcontrite
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Answer: B
The underlined word remorseful means feeling deep regret or guilt over a wrong one has done. We need the word nearly opposite in meaning.
Impenitent means not sorry at all — showing no regret or guilt for wrongdoing. This is the direct opposite of being remorseful, so it is correct.
- A
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3.
This question is based on the novel, The Life Changer.
According to Salma, No man was worthy to be called a man except ____
- Aher fatherCorrect
- Bher brother
- Cher husband
- DHabib
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Answer: A
In The Life Changer by Khadija Abubakar Jalli, Salma grows deeply disillusioned with men because of how the men around her, including Habib, treat her only as an object of beauty rather than as a person of worth. After she loses her father, she reflects on his integrity and the respect he showed her, and concludes that no man was worthy to be called a man except her father.
- A
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4.
choose the option nearly opposite in meaning to the word(s) underlined
The incumbent president conceded defeat before the final result was announced.
- Aadmitted
- Backnowledged
- Caccepted
- DdisputedCorrect
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Answer: D
The word underlined is conceded, which means to admit or yield that something is true, often reluctantly - here, admitting defeat.
The nearly opposite word is disputed, because to dispute a result means to challenge it or refuse to accept it as valid - the reverse of yielding to it.
- A
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5.
choose the most appropriate option nearest in meaning to the word(s) underlined.
The matter was considered a private concern of the chairman to handle
- AIndividual
- BConfidential
- CSecret
- DPersonalCorrect
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Answer: D
The sentence says the matter was a private concern of the chairman — meaning it belonged to him alone, as his own affair, and was his to handle rather than the organisation's.
The word nearest in meaning here is personal: a "personal concern" is exactly a matter that concerns one person individually, which fits the sentence perfectly.
So the best fit is personal.
- A
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6.
complete the statement from the options lettered A-D
The two friends made promises to _____ when theymet last year
- Athemself
- Beach otherCorrect
- Cone another
- Dthemselves
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Answer: B
each other is correct: "The two friends made promises to each other when they met last year."
This tests a classic reciprocal pronoun rule. Each other is used when exactly two people or things are involved, while one another is reserved for more than two. The sentence tells us plainly that there are "two friends," so "each other" is the grammatically correct choice.
- A
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7.
choose the option that has the same consonant sound as the letter(s) underlined from the options lettered A-E
Bark
- ADebt
- BComb
- CRobCorrect
- DThumb
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Answer: C
The letter B underlined in "Bark" is pronounced as the consonant sound /b/ — a clear, spoken bilabial plosive, as in "boy" or "ball".
The word built on "rob" also sounds its final "b" as /b/, so it carries the same consonant sound as the "B" in "Bark". This is the correct choice.
- A
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8.
choose the option that has the same consonant sound as the letter(s) underlined from the options lettered A-E
Teach
- ANation
- BListen
- CTentCorrect
- DPicture
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Answer: C
The underlined letter in the keyword is the T in "Teach", which carries the plain, clear consonant sound /t/ - the sound you hear at the start of words like "top" or "table".
The word "Tent" begins with that same clean /t/ sound, so it matches.
- A
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9.
choose the option that has the same vowel sound as the letter(s) underlined from the options lettered A-E
Creep
- Abread
- BfieldCorrect
- Cbit
- Dgreat
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Answer: B
The underlined letters in "Creep" are pronounced /iː/, the long vowel sound heard in words like "see" and "feed". "Creep" itself is pronounced /kriːp/.
field is pronounced /fiːld/ — it carries the same long /iː/ sound as "creep", so it is the correct match.
The distractors trip up students who rely only on spelling patterns, not sound:
bread is pronounced /bred/, with the short /e/ sound, not /iː/.
- A
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10.
choose the option that best answers the question from the options lettered A-D
The Parents Teachers Association promised to build a CAFETERIA.
- Alarder
- Bkitchen
- CcanteenCorrect
- Dpantry
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Answer: C
This is a "nearest in meaning" (lexis) question: the sentence has one word written in capital letters — CAFETERIA — and the task is to pick the word from the options that is closest to it in meaning.
- A
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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Practise all 67 questions we hold from the 2021 paper, on a timed CBT screen
Every question has the answer and an explanation, in the Skolra app.