gmat_perfect wrote:Japan is a culture of accommodation and constraint, a system of forms, etiquette, and images, making its ever-present congestion tolerable.

(A) Japan is a culture of accommodation and constraint, a system of forms, etiquette, and images, making its
(B) Japan, a culture of accommodation and constraint, is a system of forms, etiquette, and images, which makes its
(C) A culture of accommodation and constraint, Japan is a system of forms, etiquette, and images making its
(D) Japan's is a culture of accommodation and constraint, a system of forms, etiquette, and images that makes the
(E) Japan's is a culture of accommodation and constraint, of a system of forms, etiquette, and images which makes the

[spoiler]OA: D[/spoiler]

how?

e-GMAT wrote:Since you have a specific question about Choice D, I will only concentrate on that in this post:

Sentence with Choice D

Japan's is a culture of accommodation and constraint, a system of forms, etiquette, and images that makes the ever-present congestion tolerable.

A general rule is that a relative pronoun modifier (in this case that clause) modifies the closest noun. However, these modifiers can modify a slightly far away noun if following conditions are satisfied:

"¢ The information that is placed between the modified noun and that modifier cannot be placed anywhere else.
"¢ If this information does not create any ambiguity in the meaning of the sentence.

Now we will see how this exception can be applied in the sentence in question:

That modifier = that makes the ever-present congestion tolerable
Preceding noun = images
Modified noun = a system
Information between the modified noun and modifier = of forms, etiquette, and images

Condition 1 = If you try placing the expression "of forms, etiquette, and images" anywhere else in the sentence, the sentence will become non-sensical.

Condition 2 = In this sentence, it does not make sense to say that images make the congestion tolerable. It only makes sense to say that the system makes the congestion tolerable.

Thus both conditions for the exception are met by this sentence and hence the exception applies and the modifier modifies a slightly far away noun - system.

Another handy tip that further confirms that this modifier modifies system is that the verb - makes - is singular and agrees in number with the singular system. If this modifier was supposed to modify images, then the verb would be plural.

For e-GMAT Users, you may find this concept discussed in detail with a number of practice questions in the file titled "Modifiers - Relative Pronouns".