From the words or group of words lettered A to D, choose the word or group of words that best completes each…

Analyze the question The sentence is: "She claims ____ someone jump over the fence." We need the form that correctly follows the verb claims and also works with the bare infinitive jump.

Explain the concept The verb claim is normally followed by:

• a to-infinitive, usually the perfect form for past events: She claims to have seen...
• or a that-clause: She claims that she saw...

It is not normally followed by a plain -ing form to express a past event, so "claims seeing" is wrong.

The second point is the verb of perception: see someone jump uses a bare infinitive (jump) after the object. This pattern is fine with to have seen: "to have seen someone jump over the fence."

Step-by-step elimination

• A. seeing: "She claims seeing someone jump..." is not the standard structure after claim. Wrong.
• B. to have seen: "She claims to have seen someone jump over the fence." Correct. It is grammatical and correctly shows that the seeing happened before the claiming.
• C. having seen: "She claims having seen..." is rare and not the standard usage after claim. Wrong in this context.
• D. to be seeing: This suggests an ongoing action at the present time, which doesn't fit the idea of a completed event. Wrong.

Answer The correct option is B. to have seen.

Tip Remember the pattern: claim + to have + past participle (e.g., He claims to have won, She claims to have seen). In WASSCE, verbs like claim, pretend, appear, seem often take the perfect infinitive when talking about past events.