GMAT Prep Test #2 Sentence Correction Question

[Guest]

Greatly influenced by the Protestant missionary Samuel Kirkland, the Oneida was the only one of the five-nation Iroquois League who sided with the colonists during the American Revolution.
A. was the only one of the five-nation Iroquois League who sided
B. was alone of the five-nation Iroquois League who sided
C. alone among the five nations of the Iroquois League sided
D. were the only ones out of the five nations of the Iroquois League in siding
E. only of the five-nation Iroquois League had sided

I picked A. The correct answer is C. I see that C is more succinct. Besides that, is there any other reason why A is better? Is there something wrong with A? Please explain. Thanks!

[Aishwary Bhashkar]

Hi,

Please look at choice A again

was the only one of the five-nation Iroquois League who sided

which gives us the impression that five-nation Iroquois League has sided rather than Oneida has. And moreover 'who' is used for a league which is not appropriate.

Thanks

Aishwary

[RonPurewal]

The main problem with choice A is its use of the singular verb 'was' for a subject (the Oneida) that is most definitely plural. The Oneida are a population (like 'the Finns' or 'the Navajo'); the trick here is that 'Oneida' doesn't end in the letter 's,' lulling many students into believing that it's singular.

This sentence also exposes a rather unusual grammatical treatment of native tribes' names: 'nation' and 'people' are used interchangeably, resulting in occasional singular/plural confusion. This doesn't work with other nations/peoples; for instance, 'Of the Scandinavian nations, only the Swedes remained neutral' is not considered correct.