SC: When Nigeria achieved full independence

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When Nigeria achieved full independence in 1960, they had already
established a federal political structure consisting of three regions based
on the three major population clusters that were in
its borders.

(A) they had already established a federal political structure consisting
of three regions based on the three major population clusters that were in

(B) they already had established a federal political structure consisting
of three regions that was based on the three major population clusters inside

(C) they already had established a federal political structure that consisted
of three regions based on the three major population clusters in

(D) it had already established a federal political structure that consisted
of three regions based on the three major population clusters within

(E) it already had established a federal political structure consisting of
three regions being based on the three major population clusters it had within


QA after some discussion.
Last edited by GMAT Hacker on Fri Aug 20, 2010 1:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by hi.itz.mani » Thu Aug 19, 2010 10:54 pm
The way I approached this Problem:

1. Choose between "they " vs "it" ............. went for "it" as Nigeria is singular ( D & E )
2. Choose already had vs had already .............. couldn't differentiate so moved ahead to find other differences
3. Earlier on any given day, I would have blindly gone for "D" ( there is a common belief " or thumb rule ... whenever you see "being" be a bit sceptical about that option ) but instead of using any thumb rule, lets see if we can find any other issue.
D) the three major population clusters within its borders
E) the three major population clusters it had within its borders

ITS IS itself a possesive, so do I need "it had" again???

My answer is hence D.

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by Tani » Fri Aug 20, 2010 10:25 am
I agree. Definitely go with "it" and be very suspect of "being". Also the "it had" is superfluous.
Tani Wolff