Before its independence in 1947, Britain ruled India as a co

I agree with your statement...we need to find ways to eliminate the incorrect answers. Let's talk about D. As was stated, the wording "ruled as a colony by Britain" is indirect/wordy language that the GMAT does not like. Additionally, using that wording creates a potential meaning where India isn't even a colony, just that is was ruled as if it were a colony. Choice E clearly states that India was actually a British colony. Back to meaning issues with choice D, you could also interpret from that wording that India was a colony "next to" Britain.

KW
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Be careful here. Choice D mentions Britain the country, not the people inside the country, so we can correctly use "which". Choice E changes Britain to British, referring now to the people of Britain (use of "who" is now appropriate).

KW
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that India had been a colony of the British before it became independent in 1947, and the British relinquished power only after a long struggle by the native people.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Pronouns + Grammatical Construction + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• In a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• Semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; commas cannot be used to join two independent clauses.

A: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "Britain" with the plural pronoun "they". Further, Option A incorrectly uses "Before its independence in 1947" to modify "Britain", incorrectly replying that India had been a colony of the British before Britain became independent in 1947; the intended meaning is that India had been a colony of the British before India became independent in 1947; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Additionally, Option A incorrectly uses conjunction ("and" in this case) to join the independent clauses "Britain ruled India as a colony" and "they would relinquish power...people"; remember, semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses. Besides, Option A uses the needlessly indirect phrase "ruled India as a colony", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

B: This answer choice incorrectly uses "Before independence in 1947" to modify "Britain", incorrectly replying that India had been a colony of the British before Britain became independent in 1947; the intended meaning is that India had been a colony of the British before India became independent in 1947; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option B uses the needlessly indirect phrase "ruled India as a colony", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

C: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "Britain" with the plural pronoun "they". Further, Option C incorrectly uses conjunction ("and" in this case) to join the independent clauses "India was ruled by Britain as a colony" and "they would relinquish power...people"; remember, semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses. Additionally, Option C uses the needlessly wordy phrase "ruled by Britain as a colony", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D: This answer choice uses the needlessly wordy phrase "ruled as a colony by Britain", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the plural noun "the British" with the pronoun "who", which can be used to refer to both plural and singular nouns. Further, Option E correctly uses "Before independence in 1947" to modify "India", conveying the intended meaning - that India had been a colony of the British before India became independent in 1947. Additionally, Option E avoids the grammatical construction errors seen in Options A and C, as it only features one independent clause - "India had been a colony of the British". Besides, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



To understand the use of punctuation on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~10 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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A) Before its independence in 1947, Britain ruled India as a colony and they would relinquish power ….. misplaced modification, India should come after modifier phrase
B) Before independence in 1947, Britain had ruled India as a colony and relinquished power ...... same as A
C) Before its independence in 1947, India was ruled by Britain as a colony and they relinquished power … correct modification but ambiguous pronoun ‘they’
D) before independence in 1947, India had been ruled as a colony by Britain, which relinquished power ----- ‘had been ruled as a colony by Britain’ is round about.
E) Before independence in 1947, India had been a colony of the British, who relinquished power…….’had been a colony of the British’ is more forthright.


E the choice
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After "Before its independence in 1947", India -> "India" should be placed immediately after the modifier.
A and B out

C, D and E remain.
C, D - "by" hence both passive. out
E has to be the answer.

It is E

D) Before independence in 1947, India had been ruled as a colony by Britain, which relinquished power- Had been rule as colony is indirect
E) Before independence in 1947, India had been a colony of the British, who relinquished power- "Had been a colony" is direct and Gmat likes direct sentence.

Something additional here which cannot refer to people, it can refer to things. So D is incorrect and E is correct.
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why D is wrong?. I think "which" in D is correct.

if we can not explain why D is wrong, we have to accepat that D is correct and this question is not good.

ans E...

A. Before its independence in 1947, Britain ruled India as a colony and they would relinquish power
they ' is wrong

B. Before independence in 1947, Britain had ruled India as a colony and relinquished power
wrong modifier, britian being modified

C. Before its independence in 1947, India was ruled by Britain as a colony and they relinquished power
again they is incorrect for a single country

D. Before independence in 1947, India had been ruled as a colony by Britain, which relinquished power
ruled not reqd and which is wrong

E. Before independence in 1947, India had been a colony of the British, who relinquished power
correct
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Here we go,

The fight is between option D and Option E

Option D: India had been ruled as a colony by Britain

as is used as a preposition here.. followed by a noun -> Colony
when as is used as a preposition, it generally means 'in a role of'/ 'in a capacity of'

For Example -

As a teacher, Rahul has done a commendable job. ---> Rahul is in the role of Teacher.

The India in the role/capacity of colony had been ruled by Britain ----> wrong

Going with E.

Haha...it's certainly faster when you know about the relationship between Britain and India...this question probably does favor Indians a bit.

GMAT questions are designed to be self-evident, meaning that you don't need outside information to understand the proper meaning. This question is the same - you can determine the proper relationship between the countries based on who "ruled".

KW
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i too narrowed down to D and E, why is WHO > WHICH ?

E is favored for the main part of the sentence.... but this doubt of Who v/s which is creating a niggling doubt.... Is it a trick or am i missing something... ?

See the posts above for the issues with D - they are related to meaning and don't have anything to do with 'which'. On this question both who and which are used correctly therefore one is not greater than another.

KW
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I am giving below the relevant portion of explanation with regard to the difference between D and E in relation to ‘India was ruled as a colony’ and ‘India had been a colony’, by Ron of MGMAT: As this topic was originated by MGMAT, their rationale weighs in, I believe.
>https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/forums/british-india-who-t2008.html>

Quote:

Re: British India - Who
Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:07 pm

enniguy wrote: Can someone please explain why D is wrong?

"ruled as a colony" is unclear.

the gmat doesn't tolerate this sort of circumlocution. you have to say things directly.
i.e., if India WAS a colony, then you have to say that it WAS a colony.
"ruled as a colony" doesn't necessarily mean that; it could just signify that India was ruled as though it were a colony, even though it wasn't one.

analogy:

joe was a slave --> he was actually a slave.
joe was treated as a slave --> he probably wasn't a slave.

same problem in (d).

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Before its independence in 1947, Britain ruled India as a colony and they would relinquish power only after a long struggle by the native people.

A. Before its independence in 1947, Britain ruled India as a colony and they would relinquish power --- Britain is a wrong modification. It should be India

B. Before independence in 1947, Britain had ruled India as a colony and relinquished power – same as in A.

C. Before its independence in 1947, India was ruled by Britain as a colony and they relinquished power --- no proper reference for ‘they’. Britain is not plural

D. Before independence in 1947, India had been ruled as a colony by Britain, which relinquished power – had been ruled is unnecessarily wordy.

E. Before independence in 1947, India had been a colony of the British, who relinquished power – precise expression. The British refers to the administrators or to the people of Britain.
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IMO (D)

Ruled as a colony is a better form than was a colony. Colony can also be a settlement/township..so ambiguity would be there with just colony.

Hi debbiem,

I would say, using "rule" and "colony" together is in a way redudancy. When X rules Y, Y is a colony of X. One does not need to say rule as a colony. This usage is awkward.

The usage Y is a colony of X is quite common, and does not seem to make the sense ambiguous.

As no expert has highlighted this, I would like to know, is the use of "which" in option D correct?

I believe we use "which" for things. That was the main reason I chose E with "who". Please clear this.