According to the first U.S. census that took place in the year 1790, t

Question

According to the first U.S. census that took place in the year 1790, the English, the largest ethnic group among the 3.9 million people that were counted, though nearly one in five Americans were of the African heritage

A) English, the largest ethnic group among the 3.9 million people that were counted, though nearly one in five Americans were

B) English were among the 3.9 million people counted the largest ethnic group, despite nearly one in five Americans being

C) English, the largest ethnic group among the 3.9 million people counted, nearly one in five Americans, were

D) English were the largest ethnic group among the 3.9 million people counted, though nearly one in five Americans was

E) English was the largest ethnic group counting among the 3.9 million people, though nearly one in five Americans

GKomoku · Answer

According to the first U.S. census that took place in the year 1790, the English, the largest ethnic group among the 3.9 million people that were counted, though nearly one in five Americans were of the African heritage

Meaning of the original sentence:
1. US census took place in 1790
2. According to this census data, the English people were the largest ethnic group among the 3.9 million people that were counted
3. Though nearly one in five Americans was of African nation

So we have the main contrast in our sentence:
Even though The English people were the largest group, one in five Americans was of African nation

Errors of the original sentence:

Attachment:

A.JPG [ 33.11 KiB | Viewed 2609 times ]

We don't have main verb for "the English" in our IC.
"one" doesn't agree in number with verb "were"

POE

A) English, the largest ethnic group among the 3.9 million people that were counted, though nearly one in five Americans were

B) English were among the 3.9 million people counted the largest ethnic group, despite nearly one in five Americans being
("being" is neither part of the "continuous tense, nor "subject" of the sentence, hence incorrect)

C) English, the largest ethnic group among the 3.9 million people counted, nearly one in five Americans, were
(this choice completely distorted intended meaning and contrast, now we have verb for "English" but now it implies that "The English people were of the African heritage)

E) English was the largest ethnic group counting among the 3.9 million people, though nearly one in five Americans
("the English {people - ellipsed} -plural - vs - singular, don't agree in number, we don't have verb in our DC, no verb for "one")

D) English were the largest ethnic group among the 3.9 million people counted, though nearly one in five Americans was

Attachment:

D.JPG [ 41.67 KiB | Viewed 2587 times ]

D is the answer

rajatvermaenator · Answer

hi,
kindly shed the light, if you consider "the English " the people verb should be were, if you consider the english - the group its singular, 
in what context can we compare the english with group and still use were.

VerbalBot · Answer

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According to the first U.S. census that took place in the year 1790, t

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