Sentence Correction

975. Puritan fanatics brought to civil and military affairs a coolness of judgment and mutability of purpose that some writers have though inconsistent with their religious zeal, but which was in fact a natural outgrowth of it.
(A) but which was in fact a natural outgrowth of it
(B) but which were in fact a natural outgrowth of it
(C) but which were in fact natural outgrowths of it
(D) but it was in fact a natural outgrowth of them
(E) which was in fact a natural outgrowth of it

Go for B.

There is a compound noun in the sentence a coolness of judgement and mutability and therefore the verb should be plural "were". This takes out a, d and e. From B and C I picked B because of the parallel structure

"a coolness of..........." and "a natural outgrowth of..........".

Please let us know the OA.

A,D & E are wrong bcoz of using 'was' whch creates a subject verb disagreement while referring plural 'judgment and mutability of purpose'.

B use 'a natural outgrowth' (singular) which is not in sync with 'were'(plural) here.

C is the only choice left.

"natural outgrowth" is not associated with "coolness of judgment and mutability of purpose". It is associated with "religious zeal". It has to stay singular. Option B is right.

Hey All
Thanks much but I am still confused about whats "it" in the end referring to....As per 1000 scs answers;Its "C"...plz explain the antecedent for "it" in the end

No .. "natural outgrowth" is associated with "coolness of judgment and mutability of purpose" and not with "religious zeal".
Only modifying "coolness of judgment and mutability of purpose" makes sense because "religious zeal" cannot be the outgrowth of "coolness of judgment and mutability of purpose". Only "coolness of judgment and mutability of purpose" can be outgrowth of "religious zeal".
So, C is correct.
'it' refers to "religious zeal"

Hope it is clear now.

I agree to the explanations for C.