Fill each gap with the most appropriate option from the list provided. We had to ..... the group headed by Taiwo.

Analyze the question

The sentence is "We had to ..... the group headed by Taiwo." We need a verb or phrasal verb that fits after "had to" (so it must be in the base form) and takes "the group headed by Taiwo" as its object. Here "group" is a collection of people, so the meaning is probably to betray them.

Explain the concept

Phrasal verbs with "sell":

• sell out: (1) to sell all of something, as in "The tickets sold out." (2) informally, to betray someone or abandon your principles, as in "He sold out his friends." It can also mean to betray a group or cause.
• sell off: to sell goods or assets, usually cheaply or to get rid of them, as in "The company sold off its old stock."
• sell up: to sell your house or business, usually with no object, as in "He sold up and moved abroad."
• selled: not a word. The past tense of "sell" is "sold", and after "had to" we need the base form anyway.

Show the solution

1. After "had to", we need the base form of a verb, so D (selled) is out. It is incorrect in form.
2. The object is a group of people, "the group headed by Taiwo". You cannot "sell off" or "sell up" a group of people in normal usage. Those phrasal verbs refer to goods, property or businesses.
3. "Sell out" also carries the sense of betraying people. "We had to sell out the group headed by Taiwo" means we had to betray them, which fits a group of people best.

Answer

sell out**.

Tip

Remember: sell out = betray (or run out of stock), sell off = get rid of goods, sell up = sell your whole house or business. If the object is a person or a group of people, "sell out" is usually the one JAMB wants. Also check for non-words like "selled", because the past tense of "sell" is always "sold".