Sentence Correction

The first English settlers to establish a permanent colony in America did it not at Plymouth but
along the shore of the James River west of Chesapeake Bay.

A. it not at Plymouth but
B. so not at Plymouth but
C. not at Plymouth but instead
D. not at Plymouth but did so
E. it not at Plymouth but rather

[spoiler]OA: Will be posted later. Please explain each answer choice[/spoiler]

IMO B

The first English settlers to establish a permanent colony in America did so not at Plymouth but
along the shore of the James River west of Chesapeake Bay.

did what? establish a permanent colony. did so clearly states that settlers established their colonies not at plymouth but along....

C & E use but instead & but rather : unnecessary

A : it is not clear.

D : awkward : did not at at plymouth but did so... does not states what they did not do earlier but did so after

Thanks
Gautam

gsinghal wrote:IMO B

The first English settlers to establish a permanent colony in America did so not at Plymouth but
along the shore of the James River west of Chesapeake Bay.

did what? establish a permanent colony. did so clearly states that settlers established their colonies not at plymouth but along....

C & E use but instead & but rather : unnecessary

A : it is not clear.

D : awkward : did not at at plymouth but did so... does not states what they did not do earlier but did so after

Thanks
Gautam

Hi Gautam,

Can you clear one thing i.e to what all "it" in option A refer to?????

Also, are C and E wrong because "but is already a transition verb and by introducing another transition verb instead or rather with but it causes redundancy"??????

Great explanation, Gautam - thanks!

And to aspirant's question:

Can you clear one thing i.e to what all "it" in option A refer to?????

Exactly! Because we can't find a clear or logical antecedent for "it" to refer back to in either A or E, that's why those answer choices are incorrect. "So" serves this purpose better (almost like a pronoun for a verb), and that's why B is correct.

Thanks a lot guys