JAMB UTME - Yoruba Language - 2025

Before the arrival of Christianity, the Yoruba people practised a traditional belief system centred on the worship of the òrìṣà, the various deities associated with natural forces, ancestors, and specific areas of life such as Ṣàngó, Ògún, and Ỏyá. This indigenous religious practice is known as ìjọ́sin Òrìṣà, meaning the worship of the deities.

The option naming worship of the Òrìṣà (ìjọ́sin Òrìṣà) correctly identifies this pre-Christian faith, which existed long before missionaries introduced Christianity to Yorubaland.

Teaching, hearing from God in the Christian sense, and naming ceremonies are not religions in themselves; hearing from God in particular reflects a Christian framework rather than the traditional practice the question is asking about. A useful way to check this kind of question is to ask which option names an actual belief system rather than an activity or ritual that could exist within several different belief systems.

Once the hunter's report ruled out wild animals as the cause of the damage, the passage says the village head called all the villagers together and set up a group whose job was to keep watch at night, in order to find out who or what was really responsible.

The passage does not say the village head went to the second village himself, that only happens later, after the culprits are caught, and it is the elders in general, not the village head alone, who make that visit. There is no mention in the passage of the village head ordering a separate investigation apart from setting up the night watch, or of him holding any kind of festival or ceremony.

Because the passage specifically describes the village head gathering everyone and forming a night-watch group to guard the farmland, that is the action he took to identify the culprit.

Examination tip: track each character's specific action as the passage narrates it in sequence, the village head's contribution here is organising the night watch, distinct from the later reconciliation visit made by the elders.

Yoruba sentences are classified by the purpose they serve: a declarative sentence states a fact or gives information, an interrogative sentence asks a question, and an imperative sentence gives a command. "Ó ra aṣọ tuntun" (He bought new clothes) simply reports an event that took place, without asking anything or instructing anyone to act.

Because it states information rather than questioning or commanding, this sentence is a declarative sentence, called gbolohun àfihàn in Yoruba grammar, which is the correct classification.

It cannot be a question, since it contains no question word or rising interrogative structure, and it cannot be a command, since it describes a completed action rather than instructing someone to act. Checking whether a Yoruba sentence states, asks, or instructs is the quickest way to sort it into its correct grammatical type.

In Yoruba culture, several traditional customs (\u00e0\u1e63\u00e0) mark different stages and events in life, each with its own name. \u00cck\u00e0w\u00e9 refers to the practice or culture of reading. \u00cck\u00f3r\u00e8 is the harvest festival, celebrating the gathering of crops such as yam or maize. \u00cc\u1eb9\u0300y\u00e0 relates to separation or parting. \u00ck\u1eb9\u0301 \u1ecdm\u1ecd (the naming ceremony) is the custom performed to welcome and formally name a newborn child, usually within the first seven to nine days after birth, when family and community gather to bless the child and confer its name.

Since the question asks specifically about the custom of celebration connected with a child, the practice that fits is the naming ceremony, because it is the traditional celebration organised specifically to welcome a child into the family and community.

Examination tip: match each Yoruba custom to the life event it marks, the naming ceremony for a newborn child, marriage rites for a wedding, and burial rites for a death.

Ìjálá is a chant traditionally performed by hunters and devotees of Ògún, the Yoruba god of iron and war. Its verses celebrate courage, skill in the hunt, and the strength of the hunter, so a typical example of ìjálá is a chant that praises a valiant, courageous person, matching ìyìn akíkanjú.

Ìjálá is not the same as an entertainment song sung purely for fun, a story told about a masquerade festival, or ordinary speech used while working; those describe other kinds of oral performance. What sets ìjálá apart is its focus on bravery and hunting prowess, delivered in a distinctive chanting style with its own vocabulary.

When identifying ìjálá in an exam question, listen for the theme of valour and hunting; that theme is the surest marker of the genre.

This question tests understanding of the meaning of a specific Yoruba noun built from a verb phrase describing physical harm.

"Ìpalára" is formed from the verb phrase "pa ara ... lára," to cause harm or injury to a body, and functions as the noun for that harm, that is, an injury or wound sustained by a person. This is why it corresponds most closely to the term describing the state of having been physically hurt, rather than to an accusation directed at someone, to hair or bodily irritation, or to general weakness or illness, which describes a different, non-injury condition of the body.

Distinguishing "ìpalára" from a word for sickness matters because Yoruba, like many languages, has separate vocabulary for damage caused by an external event, such as a fall or a blow, and for illness arising internally, such as fever. The question is testing that a candidate keeps these two categories apart.

When a Yoruba vocabulary question gives a compound built around "ara," body, check first whether the compound describes an external injury or an internal state of health, since these are frequently confused.

Alárìnjó is the name of the traditional Yoruba travelling theatre troupe that moved from town to town staging masquerade performances. Their shows combined spoken drama, mime, and satire with drumming and singing, which is why their defining activity is correctly described as eré pẹ̀lú orin, drama performed with music.

Alárìnjó performances were not simply climbing plants, dance on its own without spoken drama, or poetry set to song; their hallmark was theatrical scenes, often comic or satirical, carried along by live musical accompaniment.

Associate Alárìnjó with travelling masquerade theatre powered by music, and you will not confuse it with genres that involve only dance or only chanted poetry.

This question tests the ability to identify which word in a set functions as a noun, "orúkọ" in Yoruba grammar, as opposed to a verb.

Three of the words describe actions: singing, going, and eating, and each behaves as a verb because it can only complete a sentence when paired with a subject performing the action, for example "o kọrin," "o lọ," or "o jẹ." The remaining word names a thing, a dwelling or house, and can stand as the subject or object of a sentence on its own, for example "ilé náà tóbi," the house is big. That grammatical behaviour, naming a person, place, or thing rather than an action, is what marks it as the noun in this group.

A quick test for separating nouns from verbs in Yoruba is to ask whether the word can be preceded by a determiner such as "náà" ("the") or a quantity word; only a noun accepts that construction naturally.

When asked to pick out a noun among Yoruba words, check first whether each word denotes an action or a thing, since that single distinction settles most of these questions quickly.

This question tests knowledge of the specific Yoruba term for a well-known cultural rite, the ceremony held to welcome and name a newborn child.

In Yoruba tradition, a newborn is formally given a name during a dedicated ceremony that usually takes place about a week after birth, attended by family and community elders who bless the child and confer names chosen for their meaning. The Yoruba term for this specific rite, literally "naming a child," is the one that correctly answers the question. It is distinct from a burial rite, from an ordinary story-telling occasion, and from a general discussion or meeting, none of which refers to a newborn-child ceremony.

A useful way to recognise this vocabulary is to notice how the word is built from "so," to make or turn something into, "ọmọ," child, and "orúkọ," name, so that the whole word literally means "to make the child into a name-bearer."

When a Yoruba vocabulary question describes a life-stage ritual, break the compound word into its parts to confirm what activity it names before choosing an answer.

In the sentence Ó fi èbùn náà fún mi sí orí tabili (he/she put the gift for me on top of the table), the word sí introduces the location where the gift was placed, on top of the table. A word that links a noun to the rest of the sentence to show relationships such as place, direction, or time is called a preposition, which in Yoruba grammar is termed ọ̀rọ̀ amúlò.

Sí is not a sign of devotion, a demonstrative word pointing something out, or a narrative word used for storytelling; its only job here is to connect the action of placing the gift to the place it was placed, which is exactly the work a preposition does.

To spot a preposition in a Yoruba sentence, look for a short word that answers where, when, or in what direction something happens; sí, ní, and lára are common examples.

The two simple sentences Ọmọ náà wà ní ilé (the child is at home) and Ó ń ka iwe rẹ̀ (he/she is reading his/her book) describe two separate but related actions happening at the same time. The standard way to combine two such simple sentences into one compound sentence in Yoruba is with the connector sì (and/also), giving Ọmọ náà wà ní ilé, ó sì ń ka iwe rẹ̀.

The other combinations either force an unnatural focus construction, or turn the second sentence into a relative clause describing the child rather than simply joining two parallel actions, which changes the sentence type from a compound sentence to a complex one.

To build a compound sentence from two short Yoruba sentences, keep both actions as independent clauses and link them with sì rather than folding one inside the other with tí.

The passage lists the foundations of Yoruba culture and practice in one sentence: good relationships (íbáṣepọ̀ rere), the blessing of elders, family contentment (ìtẹ́lọrun ídílé), and advice built on the wisdom of the ancestors (ọgbọ́n àwọn baba-nlá wa). The question asks which areas or branches Yoruba culture brings together, so the correct option must match this list.

The option naming relationship, contentment, and the application of wisdom (íbáṣepọ̀, ìtẹ́lọrun, ímúlò ọgbọ́n) directly mirrors these three pillars named in the passage, making it the correct answer.

The other options introduce items the passage never groups together under culture, such as song, fighting, and medicine, or religion, evil, and prayer. These sound like they could belong to a general discussion of Yoruba life, but none of them appear in the specific sentence the question is testing, so they must be rejected.

"Șe" jẹ́ ọ̀ro ìfarapa tí a fi n dá àtẹ̀gùn gbolohun àșẹ sílẹ̀.

Traditional Yoruba family life (ẹbí) is organised around close kinship ties, and one of the most basic units within an extended family is the group of children born to the same mother, referred to as ọmọ-ìyá. This bond of shared maternal descent is a defining feature of how a Yoruba family is structured and understood.

A decision, a system of government, and a story are not kinship categories; they describe entirely different aspects of life and cannot define how family membership is organised. Family structure in Yoruba culture is built on blood and marriage ties, and ọmọ-ìyá names exactly one such tie.

When a question asks what a Yoruba family is built with or organised around, look for the option that names a kinship relationship rather than an abstract idea like decision-making or governance.

This question tests knowledge of the term used in Yoruba culture for an indigenous, traditionally worshipped being or deity.

Yoruba traditional religion recognises a pantheon of indigenous deities, each associated with particular forces of nature or aspects of life, such as thunder, iron, or rivers, and worshipped through dedicated rites and priesthoods. The general term for such an indigenous deity or divine being is the one that correctly answers this question. It is distinct from a riverbank, from blood, and from a masquerade or ancestral spirit figure, each of which names something else entirely within Yoruba culture.

Recognising this term matters because Yoruba culture questions frequently distinguish between related but separate concepts, such as an ancestral masquerade, a deity, and a natural feature, and JAMB tests whether a candidate keeps these categories distinct.

When asked to identify an indigenous Yoruba spiritual being, look for the term specifically associated with worship and divine attributes, rather than terms describing physical places or unrelated cultural objects.

This question is loosely worded, but it is asking for something in Yoruba speech that people habitually point to or refer back to when making an argument, described here as an àtọ́ka (a pointer or reference). In Yoruba oral tradition, that role belongs to àwọn òwe, proverbs.

Yoruba speech leans heavily on proverbs as ready-made points of reference: a speaker cites a proverb the way a writer cites a source, to point to accepted wisdom and strengthen an argument. This function is captured in the well known saying that a proverb is the horse used to trace and recover a lost line of speech.

Application, complex sentence structure, and machinery do not serve this referencing function in everyday speech, while proverbs are specifically kept and reused as fixed points that a speaker points back to; that is why proverbs are the best fit here, even though the question's phrasing is not fully precise.

This question tests knowledge of the Yoruba term for the celebration held to mark a birthday.

In Yoruba culture, a birthday is marked with a festive gathering involving family, friends, food, music, and well-wishes for the celebrant, and the general Yoruba word for this kind of celebration or party is the one that correctly answers the question. It is distinct from the words for a town, a story or historical account, and an unrelated term that does not refer to a festive occasion, none of which describes a celebratory gathering of this kind.

This term applies broadly to festive occasions in Yoruba culture beyond birthdays as well, covering celebrations held for a range of joyful events, which is why it is the word most directly associated with marking an occasion such as a birthday with festivity.

When a Yoruba culture question asks for the term describing a celebration or party, look for the vocabulary specifically tied to festivity and joyful gathering rather than words describing places, records, or unrelated customs.

The Yoruba word "s\u00e1l\u00f3" is formed from two words joined together, "s\u00e1" (to run or flee) and "l\u1ecd" (to go away). Together they describe the act of running away from a place, escaping quickly rather than walking normally.

Gb\u00e9 means to carry or lift something, which does not involve fleeing. K\u00f3 l\u1ecd means to pack up and move away, describing a deliberate relocation with one's belongings, not a hurried escape. B\u1ecc\u0300 means to come or to return, the opposite direction of movement from s\u00e1l\u00f3. S\u00e1 \u00e0s\u00e1l\u00e0, on the other hand, means to flee or escape, exactly the meaning carried by "s\u00e1" in s\u00e1l\u00f3, describing a hurried departure away from danger or trouble.

Because s\u00e1l\u00f3 combines "s\u00e1" (flee) with "l\u1ecd" (go), its meaning matches s\u00e1 \u00e0s\u00e1l\u00e0, to flee in escape.

Examination tip: when a Yoruba word is a compound of two smaller words, break it into its parts first, s\u00e1 and l\u1ecd here, then match the combined meaning to the closest option rather than guessing from the whole word alone.

This question tests knowledge of which group of performers is traditionally associated with a specific genre of Yoruba oral poetry.

Ìjálá is a chanted poetic form performed specifically by hunters, traditionally recited to honour Ògún, the deity associated with iron and hunting, and to recount hunting exploits, animal lore, and hunters' experiences in the forest. Its distinctive vocabulary, imagery drawn from wildlife and the bush, and its ceremonial occasions are all tied to hunting culture, which is why hunters, rather than drivers, market traders, or any other occupational group, are the performers historically identified with this chant.

Yoruba oral literature assigns different chant and poetry forms to different social or occupational groups, for example herders, hunters, or praise singers, and recognising which genre belongs to which group is a recurring feature of this area of the syllabus.

When a question names a specific chant genre and asks who performs it, recall the occupational or ceremonial group historically linked to that genre rather than guessing from the sound of the word alone.

This question tests recognition of a collective or plural noun, a word used to refer to a group of people together, as opposed to individual family terms.

The words for father, mother, and child each refer to a single, specific individual within a family. The remaining option combines the plural marker "àwọn" with the word for kinsmen or community members, producing a term that refers to a group of people considered together rather than to any one person. That is precisely what a collective noun does: it names a body of people as a unit rather than naming an individual role within a family.

The prefix "àwọn" is the standard Yoruba marker of plurality when attached to a noun referring to people, and recognising it is a reliable way to identify collective or group nouns in Yoruba sentences.

When asked to identify a word showing a group of people, look for the plural marker attached to a noun, since individual kinship terms such as father, mother, and child will never by themselves indicate a collective group.

The passage explains that although the villagers first suspected wild animals, the village hunter, who is skilled at tracking animals, examined the scene and reported that he could find no animal footprints at all to support the idea that an animal was responsible.

No garden being eaten is not what the passage says; the garden was in fact being damaged, which is precisely the problem being investigated. The passage never mentions that an animal was actually caught, so that cannot be the reason the villagers changed their thinking. Absence of animal noise is also not stated anywhere in the passage as evidence.

Because it was specifically the hunter's report of finding no animal footprints that undermined the idea of an animal being responsible, that report is what made the villagers realise it was not an animal.

Examination tip: when a comprehension question asks what made a character realise something, search the passage for the specific piece of evidence given, here the hunter's statement about footprints, rather than assuming a general explanation.

\u00c0\u00ect\u00f3\u0301 \u1eb9\u0300s\u00f9n means the falsity or wrongness of an accusation, in other words, a denial that the accusation is true. A sentence that expresses this idea must state, directly, that the accused did not do what they are being blamed for.

"K\u00ec \u00ed \u1e63e \u00f2un l\u00f3 j\u00e0" translates as "it was not him or her who fought," a direct denial that the accused person is the one responsible for the fight. "\u00d3 d\u00e1j\u00fa p\u00e9 \u00f2un l\u00f3 j\u00e0" means "it is certain that it was him or her who fought," which affirms guilt rather than denying it. "K\u00f2 t\u00ed \u1eb9nik\u1eb9\u0301ni m\u1ecd\u0300 \u1ecd\u0301" means "no one knows him or her yet," which is unrelated to confirming or denying an accusation of fighting. "\u1e62\u00e9 o s\u1ecd p\u00e9 \u00f2un l\u00f3 j\u00e0?" means "did you say it was him or her who fought?", a question seeking information rather than a statement denying guilt.

Because it is the only sentence that directly rejects the claim that the accused person fought, "K\u00ec \u00ed \u1e63e \u00f2un l\u00f3 j\u00e0" is the sentence that shows denial of the accusation.

Examination tip: look for a sentence structured as a direct negation, "k\u00ec \u00ed \u1e63e...," when a question asks which statement denies or shows the falsity of an accusation.

In the sentence Òjò ń rọ bí i pé ọ̀run ń șú (the rain is falling as if the sky is pouring), the speaker is not stating a fact directly but comparing the intensity of the rain to an imagined event. The phrase that introduces this comparison is bí i pé, which means "as if" or "as though."

This phrase is what grammarians call the comparison marker: it signals that what follows is not literally true but is used to intensify the description of the rain. The remaining words in the sentence, òjò (rain), rọ (to fall/rain), and ọ̀run (sky), simply name the things being talked about; none of them performs the work of setting up a comparison.

When a question asks for the comparison word in a Yoruba sentence, look first for a phrase built around bí (like/as), since that is the standard way Yoruba introduces a simile.

Gbolohun àșe máa ń bẹ̀rẹ̀ pẹ̀lú àsọyé tí ó fún ní ìtọ́sọ́nà tàbí àṣẹ.

The passage states the cause plainly: "pẹ̀lú ìtẹ̀síwájú ìmọ̀ ìjìnlẹ̀ àti imọ̀-ẹrọ, ọ̀pọ̀ àwọn ọmọde àti àwọn ọdọ ti kọ̀ ẹ̀kọ́ àti àṣà àwọn baba wọn sílẹ̀" (with the advance of science and technology, many children and youths have abandoned the teaching and culture of their fathers). The advance of science and technology is identified as the driver of this change.

Bad conduct, learning religious doctrine, and an unlucky star are not mentioned anywhere in the passage as reasons for children abandoning their culture; they are unsupported by the text.

For this type of question, trace the cause-and-effect language the passage uses, here "with the advance of...", to find the exact factor the writer blames.

The passage says that the members of the night-watch group sat in the dark for many nights without anything happening. It specifically states that it was on the fifth night, while the moon was shining in the sky, that they heard a rustling sound near the village head's yam barn and rushed to investigate.

The passage does not mention a third or sixth night at all, and it explicitly contrasts the fifth night, when the discovery happened, with the earlier nights, including the first night, when the watchers saw nothing.

Because the passage names the fifth night as the specific night the watchers heard the sound and discovered what was happening, that is the correct night.

Examination tip: for questions asking when an event happened in a narrative, locate the exact time marker the passage gives, here the fifth night, rather than assuming the event happened as soon as the watch began.

This question checks whether the reader has followed the passage to its resolution, where the villagers' response changes once they learn the full circumstances behind the earlier disturbance.

After the elders travel to the neighbouring village and speak with the people there, they discover that the young people who had been taking food were driven to it by hardship: a flood had destroyed their farmland, leaving their families without enough to eat. Faced with this information, the passage states plainly that the elders chose to give out of their own remaining food to help them, rather than punish them for what had happened.

This response is what allows the story to end with friendly relations between the two villages. Choosing kindness over blame or punishment is the turning point of the narrative, and it explains why the passage closes by describing lasting cooperation between the communities rather than continued suspicion.

In comprehension passages built around conflict and resolution, the ending usually reveals the story's central value; here that value is compassion shown once the true cause of a problem is understood.

The passage states the consequence directly: "àìmọ̀ àṣà lórí àwọn ọmọde ń fa ìjìyà àti ìtànkálẹ̀ ìbànújẹ́ nínú awujọ" (children's ignorance of culture causes suffering and the spread of sadness in society). Suffering and sadness are named as the outcome of cultural ignorance among the young.

Love of festivals, devotion, and the general development of a town are not mentioned as effects of ignoring culture; the passage links ignorance specifically to social suffering and unhappiness, not to these unrelated outcomes.

For cause-and-effect comprehension questions, locate the sentence that names the result directly, the word fa meaning causes, and match the answer to that stated result.

The statement quoted in the question is phrased as an instruction, telling the listener what attitude or action to take regarding the state of their spirit. Statements of this kind, which tell someone what they should or should not do in order to cope with a situation, are classified as \u00ecm\u1ecd\u0300r\u00e0n, advice or counsel.

\u00ccb\u00e0n\u00faj\u1eb9\u0301 describes a feeling of sadness or grief itself, not an instruction about how to respond to it. \u00ccr\u00edr\u00ed refers to a personal experience someone has lived through, a recollection of what happened, not guidance for the future. \u00c0k\u00edy\u00e8s\u00ed is an observation or a piece of information pointed out for attention, again distinct from a direct instruction on how to behave.

Because the statement is framed as guidance telling the listener how to manage their state of mind, it functions as \u00ecm\u1ecd\u0300r\u00e0n.

Examination tip: identify whether a Yoruba statement describes a feeling, recounts an event, simply draws attention to a fact, or instructs the listener on what to do, an instruction marks it as \u00ecm\u1ecd\u0300r\u00e0n.

"Jẹ" jẹ́ àsọyé tí ó fi ișe tí ẹni náà șe hàn (eating - verb).

The passage describes what a culturally untrained child lacks: "ọmọ tí kò mọ̀ ìtẹ́ríba, kò ní lè mọyì àgbà, kó sì ní ìfọkàn tán láti fi ọgbọ́n gbà ìpinnu" (a child who does not know respect cannot value elders, and will not have the confidence to make wise decisions). The passage explicitly names respect and the wisdom to make sound decisions as what such a child is missing.

The passage does not connect this lack to the ability to lie, to food choices, or to relationships in general; those ideas are not part of the sentence describing what the child fails to know.

When a question asks what a passage says someone lacks, match your answer to the exact qualities the text lists, here respect and sound judgement in decision-making.

When the night watchers ran towards the sound near the yam barn, the passage says they found some boys and girls from the neighbouring village who were fleeing with food they had stolen.

The passage does not describe the hunter behaving strangely on that night, nor does it mention the lantern catching fire. It also makes clear, through the earlier report of no animal footprints and this later discovery, that the culprits were not animals eating the garden but children taking food.

Because the passage explicitly states that the watchers found boys and girls running away with stolen food, that is what they saw that night.

Examination tip: comprehension questions about the climax of a story want the concrete detail the passage gives, here the identity of the culprits caught in the act, not an inferred or general description.

This question tests knowledge of the author of a foundational work of Yoruba prose literature.

"Ògbójú Ọdẹ nínú Igbó Irúnmalẹ̀" is a landmark Yoruba novel that follows a hunter's adventures through a world of forests, spirits, and mythical creatures, blending Yoruba folklore with narrative fiction. It was written by D.O. Fagunwa, widely regarded as a pioneer of written Yoruba fiction, whose works established the fantastical hunter's-tale genre in Yoruba literature. This distinguishes his authorship from other well-known Yoruba literary figures, whose own works are associated with different titles and genres, such as drama or poetry rather than this particular hunter's narrative.

Knowing which author is linked to which title is a recurring feature of Yoruba literature questions, since JAMB frequently pairs a well-known book title with a set of plausible author names.

When asked to match a Yoruba literary title to its author, recall the genre and subject matter of the work, since an author's known body of work, such as Fagunwa's hunter narratives, usually points directly to the correct name.

A proverb, or òwe, is a short traditional saying that expresses wisdom or a moral lesson gained from experience, often using imagery or comparison to make its point memorable. Among the Yoruba, proverbs are so valued in speech that they are described as "the horse of conversation", carrying meaning that ordinary words alone cannot express as effectively.

The option identifying a proverb as a wise saying (ọ̀rọ̀ ọgbọ́n) captures this core definition, which is why it is the correct answer.

The remaining options describe unrelated ideas: a facial expression, a living creature, or a stage play, none of which define what a proverb fundamentally is. When a question asks for the definition of a familiar literary term like òwe, the correct option is usually the one built from the term's own defining feature, here wisdom (ọgbọ́n), rather than an unrelated noun.

Farmers traditionally sing while working on the land to keep rhythm, ease the labour, and encourage one another, and this category of song is known as orin ìṣẹ́, a work song.

An explanatory piece, a hunters' chant, and a sugarcane song each belong to different contexts: an explanation is informational rather than musical, ìjálá belongs to hunters rather than farmers, and a song about sugarcane names a crop rather than an activity. None of these describe the song genre tied to the act of farming itself.

Link each occupational song to the group that performs it: hunters sing ìjálá, farmers sing orin ìṣẹ́, and remembering this pairing prevents mixing up the genres.

"Tálákà" is a Yoruba word describing a person who lacks material wealth or resources, someone who is poor or in need. The word carries the same sense as aláìní, which literally means "one who lacks" or "one in need", making it the correct match for the meaning being tested.

A student who confuses "tálákà" with its opposite, ọlọ́rọ̀ (a wealthy person), has reversed the meaning entirely, since the two words describe opposite economic conditions. The remaining options, referring to rebellion and to a child, describe unrelated concepts that share no connection with poverty or need.

When learning paired opposites in vocabulary such as tálákà and ọlọ́rọ̀, it helps to memorise them together so that an exam question testing one cannot be mistaken for its opposite.

Describing something by likening it to the sound or behaviour of an animal is a form of illustration, using one thing to stand in for and clarify another. In Yoruba, an illustrative comparison of this kind is named àpẹẹrẹ, an example.

Àfihàn refers to a display or manifestation in a broader sense, àròkọ refers to a written composition or letter, and ìsàlẹ̀ refers to the bottom or foundation of something; none of these names the specific technique of using an animal's sound or trait as an illustrative comparison.

When a question asks for the name of a technique that likens something to an animal for effect, look for the option describing an illustrative example, since that is the general term Yoruba uses for this kind of comparison.

Oríkì kì í șe àtọkànwá àṣeyọrí nìkan, ó tún fi ibi tí ọmọ ti wá hàn.

An ewì ìbànújẹ́ is a poem of sadness or sorrow, and a poem in this category is built to express negative, painful emotion rather than pleasant feeling. Among the options given, only ìrunú hàn, the display of distress or agitation, carries a negative emotional charge consistent with sadness.

Joy, laughter, and inner happiness are all positive emotions that belong to poems of celebration rather than sorrow, so they contradict the mood that a poem of sadness is meant to convey.

When identifying the tone a sad poem expresses, rule out any option describing happiness or amusement first, since a poem of sadness must show pain, grief, or distress instead.

This question tests recognition of a compound noun, a noun formed by joining two or more words into a single naming unit, as opposed to a simple, single-word noun or a verb.

Among the options, a river and a spouse or vehicle are each a single, unanalysed noun, while a word meaning "to know" is a verb rather than a noun at all. The remaining option joins the general word for a vehicle with a second word describing motion by wheel, combining two separate elements into one naming unit for a specific kind of vehicle, a car. That structure, two independent words fused together to name one distinct thing, is exactly what defines a compound noun in Yoruba grammar.

Spotting compound nouns is useful because Yoruba builds a large part of its modern vocabulary this way, joining an existing word to a descriptive term to name something more specific, much as "aṣọ" (cloth) combines with other words to name particular garments.

When identifying a compound noun, check whether a word can be split into two independently meaningful Yoruba words that together narrow down to one specific thing; if it can, it is compound rather than simple.