Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
royrijit1 wrote:
Despite Japan’s relative isolation from world trade at the time, the prolonged peace during the Tokugawa shogunate produced an almost explosive expansion of commerce.
(A) Japan’s relative isolation from world trade at the time, the prolonged peace during the Tokugawa shogunate
(B) the relative isolation of Japan from world trade at the time and the Tokugawa shogunate’s prolonged peace, it
(C) being relatively isolated from world trade at the time, the prolonged peace during Japan’s Tokugawa shogunate
(D) Japan’s relative isolation from world trade at the time during the Tokugawa shogunate, prolonged peace
(E) its relative isolation from world trade then, prolonged peace in Japan during the Tokugawa shogunate
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that Japan saw a prolonged peace during the Tokugawa shogunate, and despite Japan’s relative isolation from world trade at the time, this peace produced an almost explosive expansion of commerce.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Pronouns + Awkwardness/Redundancy• In a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
A: Correct. This answer choice avoids the pronoun ambiguity seen in Option B, as it uses no pronouns. Further, Option A correctly uses "Despite Japan’s relative isolation from world trade at the time" to modify "the prolonged peace during the Tokugawa shogunate", conveying the intended meaning - that Japan saw a prolonged peace
during the Tokugawa shogunate, and despite the fact that
Japan was relatively isolated from world trade at this time,
this peace produced an almost explosive expansion of commerce. Additionally, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy
B: This answer choice suffers from pronoun ambiguity, as it is unclear whether "it" refers to "Japan" or "prolonged peace". Further, Option B alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "the relative isolation of Japan from world trade at the time and the Tokugawa shogunate’s prolonged peace"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that Japan saw a prolonged peace during the Tokugawa shogunate, and despite
both Japan’s relative isolation from world trade at the time
and this peace, it produced an almost explosive expansion of commerce; the intended meaning is that Japan saw a prolonged peace during the Tokugawa shogunate, and despite Japan’s relative isolation from world trade at the time,
this peace produced an almost explosive expansion of commerce.
C: This answer choice incorrectly uses "Despite being relatively isolated from world trade at the time" to modify "the prolonged peace during Japan’s Tokugawa shogunate", illogically implying that
the peace that Japan saw during the Tokugawa shogunate was relatively isolated from the world during the Tokugawa shogunate; the intended meaning is that
Japan was relatively isolated from the world during the Tokugawa shogunate; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option C uses the passive voice construction "being relatively isolated", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "Japan’s relative isolation from world trade at the time during the Tokugawa shogunate"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that Japan saw a prolonged peace during
an unspecified time, and despite Japan’s relative isolation from world trade during the Tokugawa shogunate, this peace produced an almost explosive expansion of commerce; the intended meaning is that Japan saw a prolonged peace,
specifically, during
the Tokugawa shogunate, and despite Japan’s relative isolation from world trade at the time, this peace produced an almost explosive expansion of commerce. Further, Option D uses the redundant phrase "at the time during", rendering it awkward and needlessly wordy.
E: This answer choice incorrectly uses "Despite its relative isolation from world trade then" to modify "prolonged peace in Japan during Tokugawa shogunate", illogically implying that
the peace that Japan saw during the Tokugawa shogunate was relatively isolated from the world during the Tokugawa shogunate; the intended meaning is that
Japan was relatively isolated from the world during the Tokugawa shogunate; remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option E is needlessly wordy due to its redundant use of the word "then"; this usage is redundant, as "then" can be deleted without a loss of clarity.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
_________________