Harley1980 wrote:
Beginning in the 1970s, when oil prices soared due to a decrease in the global supply with foreign automakers flooding the market, the automotive industry in the United States suffered numerous setbacks from which, despite periodically resurging, it has never fully recovered.
A) Beginning in the 1970s, when oil prices soared due to a decrease in the global supply with foreign automakers entering the market, the automotive industry in the United States suffered numerous setbacks from which, despite periodically resurging, it has never fully recovered.
B) Since the 1970s, when oil prices soared as a result of a decreased global supply and foreign automakers flooding the market, the United States automotive industry suffered numerous setbacks and despite periodically resurging, it never fully recovered.
C) Soaring prices of oil and foreign automakers flooding the market in the 1970s, resulting from a decreased global supply, caused the automotive industry in the United States to suffer numerous setbacks that, despite a periodic resurgence, it has never fully recovered.
D) Beginning in the 1970s, when, as a result of a decreased global supply, oil prices soared and foreign automakers flooded the market, the United States automotive industry suffered numerous setbacks that, despite a periodic resurgence, it never fully recovered from.
E) Despite periodically resurging, the United States automotive industry has never fully recovered from the numerous setbacks that began in the 1970s, when both oil prices soared as a result of a decreased global supply and foreign automakers flooded the market.
MAGOOSH Official Explanation
When the entire sentence is underlined, especially one of this length, it is a good idea to go through each answer choice looking for mistakes. Often so much of the sentence will be rearranged that there are not any clear splits. That’s the case here.
(A) implies that the U.S automotive industry began in the 1970’s. The incorrect use of “due to”, though, is the easiest reason to eliminate this choice.
(B) The “since…” implies present perfect tense. Instead, we have the simple past, "suffered.”
(C) Two mistakes: “it has never fully recovered” changes the meaning AND “foreign automakers flooding the market” did not result from a decreased global supply.
(D) Implies the U.S. automotive industry began in the 1970’s. Present perfect, “has recovered”, is needed.
(E) The answer.
FAQ: Since "despite" is a preposition, shouldn't it be followed by a noun? Isn't "resurging" a verb?A preposition should indeed be followed by a noun. And "despite" actually is followed by a noun in this case! This is because "resurging" here is a gerund. A gerund is the -ing form of a verb acting as a noun in any of the “noun roles” possible in a sentence, including the object of a preposition.