Hello Everyone!
There have already been some great discussions about modifiers, transitions, and wordiness on this question. Let's tackle this question from a different angle and narrow it down to the right answer! Before we dive in, let's take a closer look at the original question and highlight any major differences in
orange:
The Olympic Games helped to keep peace among the pugnacious states of the Greek
world in that a sacred truce was proclaimed during the festival’s month.
(A) world
in that a sacred truce was proclaimed
during the festival’s month(B) world
, proclaiming a sacred truce
during the festival’s month(C) world
when they proclaimed a sacred truce
for the festival month(D) world
, for a sacred truce was proclaimed
during the month of the festival(E) world
by proclamation of a sacred truce that was
for the month of the festivalAfter a quick glance over the options, a few things stand out that we can focus on:
1. transition after "world": in that / proclaiming / when they / for / by proclamation of
2. the festival's month / the festival month / the month of the festival
3. during vs. forLet's start with #3 on our list: during vs. for. Since this is an "x or y" situation, we know it will likely eliminate 2-3 options quickly, so it's a great place to start. It may seem like these two words can be used interchangeably, but when it comes to discussing time and events, they mean different things:
during = discussing something that happens within a time period (We went skiing
during our 2-month long school break.)
for = discussing the duration of time an event happens (We studied for our final exams
for 12 hours straight.)
Since we are talking about something that happens within a certain time period (a truce being proclaimed during the games), we need to keep options that use "during" and toss any options that use "for":
(A) world in that a sacred truce was proclaimed
during the festival’s month
(B) world, proclaiming a sacred truce
during the festival’s month
(C) world when they proclaimed a sacred truce
for the festival month
(D) world, for a sacred truce was proclaimed
during the month of the festival
(E) world by proclamation of a sacred truce that was
for the month of the festival
We can eliminate options C & E because they use "for" instead of "during" to indicate that the truce occurs within the time frame that the games take place.
Next, let's focus on #2 on our list: the festival's month / the festival month / the month of the festival. This is another issue of idiom structure that focuses on how we discuss events which take place during a certain time:
the festival's month = the month belongs to the festival (...which doesn't really sound right, does it?)
the month of the festival = the festival takes place during a specific month (...which makes more sense, don't you think?)
My daughter's birthday takes place during
the spring break's week. -->
BADMy daughter's birthday takes place during
the week of her spring break. -->
GOODIn English, it makes more sense to say an event takes places during "the month of" rather than saying the month is owned by an event.
(A) world in that a sacred truce was proclaimed
during the festival’s month(B) world, proclaiming a sacred truce
during the festival’s month(D) world, for a sacred truce was proclaimed
during the month of the festivalWe can eliminate options A & B because the use the incorrect idiom structure "during the festival's month" to discuss an event that happens within a certain time frame.
There you go - option D is the correct choice! It's the only one that uses proper idiomatic structures to discuss events and timing!
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