Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
tejal777 wrote:
As rainfall began to decrease in the Southwest about the middle of the twelfth century, most of the Monument Valley Anasazi abandoned their homes to join other clans whose access to water was less limited.
(A) whose access to water was less limited
(B) where there was access to water that was less limited
(C) where they had less limited water access
(D) with less limitations on water access
(E) having less limitations to water access
Concepts tested here: Pronouns + Verb Forms + Awkwardness/Redundancy• “few”/”a few” are exclusively used to refer to plural nouns and countable nouns, and “less”/”a little” are exclusively used to refer to singular nouns and uncountable nouns; “any”, “none”, “all”, and “some” can be used to refer to plural and uncountable nouns and singular and countable nouns.
• "where" is only used to refer to a physical place.
• "limitations + on + noun" is the correct idiomatic construction.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past.
A: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the noun "clans" with "whose". Further, Option A correctly uses the simple past tense verb "was" to refer to an action that concluded in the past. Additionally, Option A correctly uses the phrase "less limited" to refer to the uncountable noun "access". Moreover, Option A avoids the idiom error seen in Option E, as it does not uses the word "limitations". Besides, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
B: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the noun "clans" with "where"; remember, "where" is only used to refer to a physical place. Further, Option B uses the needlessly wordy clause "there was access to water that was less limited", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
C: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the noun "clans" with "where"; remember, "where" is only used to refer to a physical place. Further, Option C uses the needlessly indirect clause "they had less limited water access", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
D: This answer choice incorrectly uses "less" to refer to the countable noun "limitations"; please remember, “few”/”a few” are exclusively used to refer to plural nouns and countable nouns, and “less”/”a little” are exclusively used to refer to singular nouns and uncountable nouns.
E: This answer choice incorrectly uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "having" in this sentence) to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past. Further, Option E incorrectly uses "less" to refer to the countable noun "limitations"; please remember, “few”/”a few” are exclusively used to refer to plural nouns and countable nouns, and “less”/”a little” are exclusively used to refer to singular nouns and uncountable nouns. Additionally, Option E incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "limitations + to + noun"; please remember, "limitations + on + noun" is the correct idiomatic construction.
Hence, A is the best answer choice.All the best!
Experts' Global Team
_________________