JAMB English Language 2006 Past Questions & Answers

This question tests subject-verb agreement, which is also called concord. The subject of the verb is 'a number of stolen cars'. While 'a number of' often takes a plural verb, in this specific question's context, the phrase is treated as a singular unit representing a single, though unspecified, quantity of cars. Therefore, it requires the singular verb 'has been' to agree with this singular idea.

Common mistake: Students often choose 'have been' because the standard rule is that 'a number of' takes a plural verb, but they fail to recognize the less common interpretation tested here.

The sentence requires the present perfect tense, which is used to describe an action that happened in the past but is still relevant to the present. This tense is formed with 'has' or 'have' followed by a past participle, like 'been'. The correct option is 'He's', which is the short form of 'He has', correctly completing the sentence as 'He has been there...'.

Common mistake: Many students mistakenly choose 'He is' because they interpret the contraction 'He's' only as 'He is', but the structure 'He is been' is grammatically incorrect in English.

This question tests your understanding of the sequence of tenses. The sentence describes two actions that happened in the past: 'losing the election' and 'hoping'. The action of 'hoping' was ongoing for a period of time before the action of 'losing' occurred. To express an action that was happening before another past event, we use the past perfect continuous tense, which is 'had been hoping'.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'has been hoping', but this is the present perfect tense, which is incorrect because the entire event is set firmly in the past by the clause 'Until he lost the election'.

The gap requires an adverb to describe an adjective. In the sentence, 'level' is a noun, and 'low' is the adjective describing it. To describe how low the level was, we need an adverb, which is 'dangerously'. Therefore, the correct structure is the adverb 'dangerously' modifying the adjective 'low'.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'dangerous low', using an adjective ('dangerous') where an adverb is required to describe another adjective ('low').

This sentence is a mixed conditional sentence, which describes an unreal past condition and its probable result in the present. The 'if' clause talks about something that did not happen in the past, so it must use the past perfect tense ('had applied'). The main clause ('he would succeed') describes the hypothetical present result, making 'had applied' the only grammatically correct option to complete the thought.

Common mistake: Many students mistakenly choose 'applied' because it forms a standard Type 2 conditional, but this question tests the more complex mixed conditional structure which refers to a past missed opportunity affecting the present.

The question requires the word that best describes someone who 'showed no mercy'. The word 'ruthless' means having or showing no pity or compassion for others. This meaning directly fits the context of the sentence, making it the correct option to complete the gap.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'senseless' because a robbery can be seen as a senseless act, but the key phrase 'showed no mercy' specifically points to a lack of pity, which is the exact meaning of 'ruthless'.

This question tests your ability to correctly spell a common English word used in a medical context. The correct spelling for the medical condition is 'diarrhea', with a double 'r' and the 'h-o-e-a' ending. The other options are common misspellings of this word.

Common mistake: Students often choose 'diarhoea' because it looks very similar to the correct spelling, but they mistakenly swap the positions of the 'o' and the 'e'.

This sentence is a first conditional statement which requires a verb in the 'if' clause. In British English, 'practise' (with an 's') is the verb, while 'practice' (with a 'c') is the noun. The sentence needs an action word (verb), making 'practise' the only correct option to complete the gap.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'would practice' because they see 'will' in the first part of the sentence, but the rule for this type of conditional sentence requires the simple present tense in the 'if' clause.

This question tests the correct order of adjectives before a noun. In English grammar, there is a standard order for adjectives, and 'size' (big) comes before 'colour' (black), which comes before a 'qualifier' or participle adjective (spitting). Therefore, the only grammatically correct sequence is 'big black spitting cobra'.

Common mistake: Students may wrongly choose option B, 'Black big spitting cobra', by incorrectly placing the adjective for colour before the adjective for size, which violates the standard order of adjectives.

This question tests your knowledge of question tags. The main statement, 'He wrote to you,' is positive and in the simple past tense. The rule is that a positive statement takes a negative tag, and the tag must match the tense. The correct auxiliary verb for the simple past tense is 'did', so its negative form is 'didn't', making 'didn't he?' the correct option.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'hadn't he' or 'hasn't he', confusing the simple past tense ('wrote') with the past perfect ('had written') or present perfect ('has written') tenses.