Most professional observers believe that despite the increasing popularity of new, digital information sources, the financial success of the weekly magazine–or at least some of the weekly magazines–seem secure for some time to come.
A. that despite the increasing popularity of new, digital information sources, the financial success of the weekly magazine–or at least some of the weekly magazines–seem secure for some time to come
B. that, despite the increasing popularity of new, digital information sources, the financial success of the weekly magazine–or at least some of them–seems secure for some time to come
C. that, despite the increasing popularity of new, digital information sources, the financial success of the weekly magazine–or at least some of the weekly magazines–seems secure for some time to come
D. that the financial success of the weekly magazine–or at least some of the weekly magazines–seems secure for some time to come, this is despite the increasing popularity of new, digital information sources
E. that the financial success of the weekly magazine–or at least some of the weekly magazines–seemed secure for some time to come, despite the increasing popularity of new, digital information sources
This question is based on Subject-Verb agreement and Construction.
A vertical scan of the options shows us that Options A, B, and C are similarly worded.
Option A contains a subject-verb disagreement. The plural verb ‘seem’ does not agree with the singular subject ‘the financial success’. So, Option A can be eliminated.
Option B contains a pronoun reference error. The pronoun ‘them’ is vague as it does not have a clear antecedent. It cannot refer to the singular noun ‘the weekly magazine’. So, Option B can be eliminated.
Option C corrects the errors of both the above-mentioned options. So, it is the best of all the options.
Option D has a clumsy structure. The clause “this is despite the increasing popularity of new, digital information sources” is misplaced. The sentence has a comma splice because it has two independent clauses separated by a comma. So, Option D can be eliminated.
Option E contains a tense error. The verb in the simple past tense – seemed – is not consistent with the verb in the non-underlined portion of the sentence – believe. Furthermore, in this option also, the modifier “despite…..sources” is awkwardly placed. So, Option E can be eliminated.
Option C maintains subject-verb agreement. The modifier is also appropriately placed in this option. Therefore, C is the best option.