Choose the option that best completes the gap(s) The new national security committee ____ retired military personnel.

Analyze the question

You need the verb form that correctly completes: "The new national security committee ____ retired military personnel." This tests the correct use of the verb comprise.

Explain the concept

Comprise means "to consist of" or "to include." Key rules:

1. It is a transitive verb, so it takes a direct object with no preposition. Say "comprises X," never "comprises of X."
2. The whole comprises the parts: "The committee comprises retired officers." (Not "is comprised of," which is common but considered informal by strict grammarians.)
3. Do not use it in the continuous tense. It is a stative verb, so "is comprising" sounds unnatural here.

Step-by-step solution

• A. comprised - This is past tense. It could be grammatical, but "The new committee comprised..." describes a past state, and nothing in the sentence signals past time. "New" suggests a present-state description, so it is not the best fit.
• B. comprises of - Wrong. Comprise does not take "of."
• C. is comprising - Wrong. Stative verbs like comprise are not normally used in the continuous form.
• D. comprises - Correct. The subject "committee" is singular, so the present-tense verb takes -s, and it is followed directly by the object "retired military personnel."

Answer: D. comprises

Tip: Remember "comprise = consist of," so the "of" is already built in. If you add "of," you are saying it twice. Also watch for this common JAMB trap: comprises of is always wrong.