Although limited in their usefulness thus far

Is it [spoiler]{A}?[/spoiler]

theCodeToGMAT wrote:Is it [spoiler]{A}?[/spoiler]

NO

aditya8062 wrote:good Day Mitch

my doubt : i am little worried about the usage of "despite" in option D .does the expression "Despite the limited usefulness thus far" not incorrectly modify "the several entrepreneurs" .to put my question in other words is "despite the limited usefulness thus far" not following the rule of VERBLESS clause ,which tends to modify the noun after the comma just as the expression "Although limited in their usefulness thus far" will modify "the company board’s several entrepreneurs" in option A ?

if not then can u please elaborate more on the usage of "despite"

thanks and regards

A VERBLESS CLAUSE typically is introduced by a CONJUNCTION such as if, although, while, when, etc.
John should not eat while watching television.
Conveyed meaning:
John should not eat while [he is] watching television.
Here, the words in brackets are omitted, but their presence is implied.
Since the verb in brackets is omitted, while is serving to introduce what is known as a VERBLESS clause.

A: Although limited in their usefulness thus far, the company board’s several entrepreneurs...
Conveyed meaning:
Although [they are] limited in their usefulness thus far, the company board’s several entrepreneurs...
The implication is that the ENTREPRENEURS are limited in their usefulness.
Not the intended meaning.
Eliminate A.

Despite is not a conjunction but a PREPOSITION.
Thus, despite cannot serve to introduce a verbless clause.
Generally, an introductory prepositional modifier serves as an ADVERB modifying the VERB in the following clause.
SC43 in the OG12: Despite the increasing number of women graduating from law school, the proportion of judges and partners who are women has not risen.
Here, despite the increasing number of women (an introductory prepositional modifier) serves as an adverb modifying has not risen (the verb in the following clause).
HOW has the proportion not risen?
It has not risen DESPITE THE INCREASING NUMBER OF WOMEN GRADUATING FROM LAW SCHOOL.

The issue in D is not grammatical but semantic.
D: Despite the limited usefulness, the several entrepreneurs on the board...
The limited usefulness of WHAT?
An SC on the GMAT would not make a reader wonder.

I would ignore this SC.

thanks GURU

D: Despite the limited usefulness, the several entrepreneurs on the board...
The limited usefulness of WHAT?

this is what i was wondering and when i was asking :"The limited usefulness of WHAT?" ---> it was seeming to illogically apply to the subject after the comma "the several entrepreneurs on the company board" ,which is indeed not the intended meaning

is my analysis correct?
thanks and regards

aditya8062 wrote:thanks GURU

D: Despite the limited usefulness, the several entrepreneurs on the board...
The limited usefulness of WHAT?

this is what i was wondering and when i was asking :"The limited usefulness of WHAT?" ---> it was seeming to illogically apply to the subject after the comma "the several entrepreneurs on the company board" ,which is indeed not the intended meaning

is my analysis correct?
thanks and regards

To convey that the entrepreneurs are of limited usefulness, D would probably read as follows:
Despite THEIR limited usefulness, the entrepreneurs...
Since D does not employ the possessive their, it seems clear that of limited usefulness does not refer to the entrepreneurs.
But the result is that a reader is left to wonder exactly WHAT is of limited usefulness.