Multiple choice

Directions: This question presents a sentence, all or part of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose one of the others.

The objective of democracy was to end the absolutist regimes, but replace them, not by the rule of the mass of the people, but by the propertied middle-class.

  1. The objective of democracy was to end the absolutist regimes, but replace them, not by the rule of the mass of the people, but by the propertied middle-class

  2. The objective of democracy was to end the absolutist regimes, but replace it, not by the rule of the mass of the people, but by the propertied middle-class

  3. The objective of democracy was to end the absolutist regimes, and replace them, not by the rule of the mass of the people, but by the propertied middle-class

  4. The objective of democracy was to end the absolutist regimes, and to replace it, not by the rule of the mass of the people, but by the propertied middle-class

  5. The objective of democracy was to end the absolutist regimes, and to replace them, not by the rule of the mass of the people, but by the propertied middle-class

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

We need to use the infinitive verb 'to replace' to make the sentence cogent. Also, double usage of the contrast 'but' in the original sentence seems inappropriate. This option corrects both the errors.