DmitryFarber wrote:
We need the word "but" to contrast the first part of the sentence (which describes a similarity) with the second part (which describes a difference). B and D are out.
A is wrong because we don't want to compare the English to "the French that considered their colonies part of France itself." We want to compare the English to the French. If we changed "that" to "who," and used a comma to separate, we would have a non-essential modifier and the sentence would be just fine. (" . . . but unlike the French, who considered . . . itself, the English . . . )
C is out because we don't want to compare the English to "the French considering . . . " Again, this kind of essential, or restrictive modifier, adds to the noun to make a more specific comparison. For instance, if I say "People considering an mba should study for the GMAT," I'm talking only about people who are considering an mba, not people in general.
That leaves E, which is the only choice that compares the countries correctly and contrasts the two clauses with "but."
Hi DmitryFarber,
Thanks for your inputs.
Its slightly late to post a query, still...
Except in option A, the subordinate clause in none of the options starting with "but" form an independent clause, thus creating a comma splice error. Please let me know if I am correct in my observation. Though I agree that option A changes the intended meaning as u have explained, still I had to go ahead with A as none of the other options were correct grammatically.
Please let me know your take on this.
Thanks in advance.
VJ