Despite the fact that a volatile cataclysmic class war that was

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Despite the fact that a volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, that  have historically reflected a class divide.

A) Despite the fact that a volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, that

B) Despite the fact that the volatile cataclysmic class war that had been predicted never took place, the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties,

C) While the volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, which

D) A volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, whereas the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties,

E) The volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, but it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, that

generis · Answer

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Anuragsharma93 · Answer

IMO B

Despite the fact that a volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, that have historically reflected a class divide.

A) Despite the fact that  a volatile cataclysmic class war  that was predicted never took place,  it  is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, that 
 i. The Class war was a specific class war hence use of "a Volatile class war" is slightly wrong imo.
ii. The Major issue is pronoun IT which has no logical antecedent.
ii. ,that creates another relative clause which renders the sentence incomplete.

B) Despite the fact that the volatile cataclysmic class war that had been predicted never took place, the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, 
i. Now the two events are the prediction and thereafter the "fact that the war never took place" Hence the use of past perfect is correct IMO.
ii. the illogical IT from option A is removed 
iii. The " ,THAT" issue is also resolved -- Hence this is the right answer.

C)  While  the volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, which 
 i. While indicates that two actions are happening logically at the same time, however if you go by the meaning that is clearly not the case.
ii. The Pronoun IT has no antecedent.

D) A volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place,  whereas  the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, 
 - incomplete sentence and incomplete comparison.
 - Morover we need "the volatile cataclysmic war" - since the author is being specific

E) The volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, but it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, that 
 i. The use of But structure is wrong.
ii. ",that" is wrong as explained in option A.
ii. What does IT refer to ?

zhanbo · Answer

= This is my 1000th post ==

My answer is (B). It took me 01:36.

Note that (B) is the only option that uses past perfect tense in "class war that had been predicted never took place". The prediction of the class war occurred before the fact that such prediction failed to materialize. In my opinion, the use of past perfect tense is not only appropriate but also essential.

To be on the safe side, though, I still wanted to check if there are other issues with the remaining options.

Options (ACE) uses Cleft Sentences: It for emphasis. Per https://www.thoughtco.com/adding-emphas ... m%20crazy., Sentences introduced by 'It', such as 'It is' or 'It was', are often used to emphasize a specific subject or object.
(C) does not correctly use this structure because "that" should be used in the place of "which".
For (AE), we need to ask if the emphasis on the two main political parties is warranted.

If the sentence for (A) started with "Despite the fact that myriad parties were involved in the volatile cataclysmic class war", the emphasis on the two main parties would make more sense.
Likewise, we can rewrite E to be more acceptable. "The volatile cataclysmic class war saw numerous players, but ..."

However, when the first part of the sentence talked about a volatile war that did not take place, it is bewildering to read the emphasis. Such writing leaves readers guessing the purpose of the emphasis: Did the two main political parties have anything sinister to do with the failure for the predicted war to happen? Did they collude to quash other parties to avert the war that would otherwise have taken place and changed the political landscape in which the two parties would no longer be the dominant players? The sentence does not provide enough evidence to suggest the need of the emphasis.

As for (D), the use of "whereas" suggests strong contrast between two clauses. The two clauses should be connected to the same theme. (Tom is a fan of classic music whereas John enjoys k-pop.) In (D), the two clauses are only loosely connected at best.

So, if we believe the past perfect tense must be used, (B) is no brainer. Otherwise, we have to discern many subtle distinctions.

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

Despite the fact that a volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, that have historically reflected a class divide.

A) Despite the fact that a volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, that -> We are talking about a specific war, so we need to use, "the volatile cataclysmic class"; "a volatile cataclysmic class" doesn't make sense and "It" doesn't have an antecedent. Incorrect.

B) Despite the fact that the volatile cataclysmic class war that had been predicted never took place, the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, -> We are free from "it". This seems better. Let's read closely. "had been predicted" hints for an action started in past and finished in past too. It makes sense as well. Let's keep it.

C) While the volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, which -> Definitely, "the volatile cataclysmic class war" is better, but still we have "it" which doesn't have antecedent. Incorrect.

D) A volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, whereas the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, -> Why do we say, "A volatile cataclysmic class war". Incorrect.

E) The volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, but it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, that -> Still we have "it" which doesn't have antecedent. Incorrect.

So, I think B.

Sharan1624 · Answer

Choice would be B

A) Despite the fact that a volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, that

Nonsensical given "despits the ...war...never took place, is it". "It is" is ambiguous.

B) Despite the fact that the volatile cataclysmic class war that had been predicted never took place, the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties,

C) While the volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, which
 "While" is illogical. It should be "While... the war was predicated...it never took place because...".

D) A volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, whereas the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties,
 Nonsensical

E) The volatile cataclysmic class war that was predicted never took place, but it is the two main political parties, the Labor and Conservative parties, that
 "but" is illogical

Despite the fact that a volatile cataclysmic class war that was

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Despite the fact that a volatile cataclysmic class war that was

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