Usage of “it” in option b seems ambiguous. why not e?
Affording strategic proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar, Morocco was also of interest to the French throughout the first half of the twentieth century because they assumed that if they did not hold it, their grip on Algeria was always insecure.
(A) if they did not hold it, their grip on Algeria was always insecure
(B) without it their grip on Algeria would never be secure
(C) their grip on Algeria was not ever secure if they did not hold it
(D) without that, they could never be secure about their grip on Algeria
(E) never would their grip on Algeria be secure if they did not hold it
Hi Ria,
The words insecure and unsecure have different meanings.
Insecure – uncertain or anxious about oneself; not confident
Unsecure – not protected against attack or other criminal activity
Option A: change in intended meaning by use of “insecure”. Hence incorrect
Option B: Correct answer. “they” and “their” correctly refer to the French and “it” correctly refers to “Morocco”
Option C: “it” here refers wrongly to “their grip”. Hence incorrect
Option D: “that” is ambiguous and sentence construction is wrong. Hence incorrect
Option E: Same as C. Hence incorrect
