Question

The boss called to inform that he _________ be coming to office that day. However the employees did not take it easy as they knew it was his _________ to give them a surprise by coming in and checking who was at work. Any employee, once caught not working, would then be required to _________ on the reasons for not working and if the boss was not satisfied the employee had to work on Sunday to _________ the wrong. The option that best fills the blanks in the above paragraph would be:

• A. won’t, wont, expatiate, expiate
• B. won’t, wont, expiate, expatiate
• C. wont, won’t, expatiate, expiate
• D. won’t, wont, expatiate, expiate
• E. wont, won’t, expatiate, expatiate

Hint:

Be careful with homophones and near-homophones: - “Won’t” = will not. - “Wont” = habitual behavior. - “Expatiate” = elaborate at length. - “Expiate” = make amends for guilt/wrongdoing.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: First blank.
“The boss called to inform that he be coming…” → Correct usage is “won’t” (will not). “Wont” without apostrophe means “custom,” so the negative requires “won’t.”
Step 2: Second blank.
“…it was his to give them a surprise…” → Here the meaning is “habit” or “custom.” Therefore, the correct word is “wont.”
Step 3: Third blank.
“…would then be required to on the reasons…” → Here the meaning is “explain at length.” The correct word is “expatiate” (to write or speak in detail).
Step 4: Fourth blank.
“…had to work on Sunday to the wrong.” → The sense is “make amends for wrongdoing.” The correct word is “expiate.”
Step 5: Verify option.
The sequence is “won’t, wont, expatiate, expiate,” which matches option (A).
\[ \boxed{\text{Option (A)}} \]