WASSCE English Language · Paper 1 style

Comprehension

One sample question with the full working. 9 more in the app, with instant feedback and repair sessions for the traps below.

Choose the interpretation that best fits the sentence: Had the rain not stopped, we would have cancelled the match.

AThe match was cancelled after the rain stopped.
BThe rain did not stop and the match was cancelled.
CWe will cancel the match if it rains.
DThe rain stopped and the match was played.

Show the answer and working

Answer: D

A third conditional with inversion describes an unreal past: the rain did stop.

Trap A Misinterprets sentence meaning: Paraphrase the sentence in your own words; identify negation, conditionals and figurative language before choosing.

Trap B Misinterprets sentence meaning: Paraphrase the sentence in your own words; identify negation, conditionals and figurative language before choosing.

Trap C Conditional sentence errors: Type 1: If + present, will + base. Type 2: If + past, would + base. Type 3: If + past perfect, would have + past participle.

Traps in Comprehension

Misinterprets sentence meaning
Paraphrase the sentence in your own words; identify negation, conditionals and figurative language before choosing.
Conditional sentence errors
Type 1: If + present, will + base. Type 2: If + past, would + base. Type 3: If + past perfect, would have + past participle.
Makes only part of the required change
List every change the transformation needs (pronoun, tense, time word, word order) and tick each one in the option.
Picks the opposite meaning
Paraphrase the expression in your own words first, then look for the option with the same direction of meaning.
Goes by a surface cue instead of the grammar
Ask what the word is DOING in this sentence (subject? modifier? object?) and what the rule says, not what its ending or look suggests.
Reads idioms literally
Idioms are fixed figurative expressions. If the literal meaning seems silly (a storm in a cup), it is probably figurative. Learn idioms as whole units.
Mixes up synonym and antonym questions
Circle "nearest" or "opposite" in the instruction before reading the options. Then eliminate options in the wrong direction.
Picks a near neighbour of the right form
Name the exact category the stem needs (third conditional; /əʊ/; 'call off' = cancel; clause of concession) and check each option against that name, not against how close it looks.
Breaks sequence of tenses
Past reporting verb → backshift (is → was). Unreal conditions: If I were…, I would…

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