Until 1868 and Disraeli, Great Britain had no prime ministers not coming from a landed family.
Meaning Analysis
- Until 1868 and Disraeli, Great Britain had no prime ministers not coming from a landed family.
The sentence presents a historical fact. It says that before a certain time and before the era of a certain person, all the prime ministers of Great Britain came from rich families that owned lands.
Error Analysis
1. Idiom Error
The word until is used in the context of time. It cannot be used with the name of a person (Disraeli) as we see in this sentence.
For instance, observe the following two sentences:
- Until Abdul Kalam, India hadn’t become self-sufficient in the development of ballistic missiles.
- Until Abdul Kalam was made the leader of the Missile Development Program, India hadn’t become self-sufficient in the development of ballistic missiles.
Sentence (a) uses until incorrectly, while sentence (b) correctly uses until to describe a point of time.
2. Meaning Error
The phrase …no prime minister not coming from… is confusing, as it doesn’t clearly convey the intended meaning that before Disraeli, all prime ministers of Great Britain came from landed families.
POE
Choice A
Incorrect
This choice is incorrect for the reasons stated in the error analysis.
Choice B
Incorrect
1. Idiom Error
This choice repeats the idiom error of Choice A.
2. Verb Tense Errors
- Use of past perfect tense verb had had is incorrect because the sentence talks about an event that took place till a certain point in time in the past.
However, per this choice, the fact that Great Britain did not have a prime minister from a humble background was already history. And then started the year1868. This certainly is not the intended meaning. There is no sequencing of events here. - Present perfect tense have not come has been used to present the action that took place in the past. This usage is incorrect.
Choice C
Incorrect
1. Idiom Error
This choice repeats the idiom error of Choice A.
2. Verb Tense Error
This choice repeats the present perfect tense verb error of Choice B.
Choice D
Correct
This indeed is the correct answer choice as it clearly conveys the intended meaning. Please note that had is a simple past tense verb as it is not followed by any other verb in its past participle form.
Choice E
Incorrect
Meaning Error
Per this choice, it was only in Disraeli that Great Britain had its first prime minister from a non-affluent family. Disraeli in this choice appears to be a place and not a person. The meaning is absolutely illogical.
