English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
WHOOPING or WHOPPING?
To whoop is to give a loud, excited shout, especially to show your enjoyment of or agreement with something:
They were whooping and clapping.
“Whooping” also collocates with cough to mean a serious infectious disease which causes people to cough and make a loud noise when they breathe in:
May we not suffer from ~whopping~ cough. ✖️
May we not suffer from whooping cough. ✔️
Again, the “oo” in “whoop” is pronounced like the “oo” in “fool”.
If you describe an amount as whopping, you are emphasising that it is large:
He won a ~whooping~ $10,000 dollars for his research. ✖️
He won a whopping $10,000 dollars for his research. ✔️
Note too that the “o” in “whopping” is pronounced like the “o” in “top” although Americans pronounce the “o” like the “ar” in card.
GAB
