[General] Meaning: By which was this vase broken?

[Khay HY]

May I know what is the meaning of this sentence, "By which was this vase broken?"
Is it another way of saying " who broke the vase? " Or " which vase has broken"?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Tdol]

It's unlikely. It could be used if we know that one animal of a group broke it, but it could as easily be wrong. It's not a way of saying either of those questions.

 

[GoesStation]

It's a very odd way to phrase a question. I'd read further to see if I could figure out what was intended.

Please don't put a space after an opening quotation mark or before a closing quotation mark.

 

[Rover_KE]

It might help if we knew the source of the quoted question.

 

[Khay HY]

Hi,

1. By ________ was this vase broken?
A. who
B. how
C. which
D. whom

I chose D but the answer given was C. So, I decided to ask teachers.

Thank you.

 

[tzfujimino]

D is correct.
Where did you find the question?

 

[Khay HY]

I rechecked my answer with my friend. It was me that wrongly marked the answer. Now, I'm clear. Love this site a lot.

Thank you very much.

 

[teechar]

By whom was this vase broken?

That's grammatical but highly unnatural.

Who broke the vase?

That's grammatical and natural.