I think some of you misread my answer - I went for option a commending. 

 

Maybe I was unclear because I hadn�t consumed my daily caffeine dose.  What I was trying to say was that extol is not in my vocabulary.  I rarely hear it and never use it and thus I never considered it as an option.  But when I googled it I saw that it did indeed come up as a collocation with virtue, but not as often as commending did. So, I�m opposite in thought to the other NS�s.  Now, after a days worth of caffeine, my opinion is still unchanged.  However, I can extol the virtues of caffeine ... (and yes, that does indeed sound better than commend).

 

Now, interestingly enough, if you look here, at this most interesting paper, you�ll see both extol the virtue and commend the virtue used. 

- THE LAW AS BARD: EXTOLLING A CULTURE�S VIRTUES, EXPOSING ITS VICES, AND TELLING ITS STORY

It�s published by a group which is part of Cengage Learning in Australia so it is a reputable source.

 

So Magneto, you may never know the real answer ...

 

Cheers

 

Jayho

 

P.S.  Take a look at this