In london that afforded

[neer.king]

In London that afforded its playwrights only two theaters, Alpha Behn, by 1687, had had 17 of her plays staged in as many years.
A) In London that afforded its playwrights only two theaters.
B) In a London that afforded its playwrights only two theaters.
C) Even though London's playwrights only were afforded two theaters.
D) only two theaters were afforded by London to its play rights, and.
E) Two theaters only were afforded by London to its play rights, and.

Please explain..

[Lifetron]

I would go with 'C' for 2 reasons

1."Even though" - The 1st phrase (London phrase) provides a restriction that is surpassed by the action mentioned in the main clause. 'Even though' mentions it correctly.
2.The comparison is between playwrights. C does it correctly by comparing 'London's playwrights' with 'Alpha Behn'. A & B compare 'London' with 'Alpha Behn'. D & E compare 'Theaters' with 'Alpha Behn'.

[Can u jus check the option 'C' ? I think U have posted it wrongly. It should be "only two theaters"].

What is the OA ?

[vk_vinayak]

In London that afforded its playwrights only two theaters, Alpha Behn, by 1687, had had 17 of her plays staged in as many years.
A) In London that afforded its playwrights only two theaters.
B) In a London that afforded its playwrights only two theaters.
C) Even though London's playwrights only were afforded two theaters.
D) only two theaters were afforded by London to its play rights, and.
E) Two theaters only were afforded by London to its play rights, and.

Please explain..

C/D/E are simply wrong.

Struggle is between A and B.

Option-A refers to London in general, saying that London ALWAYS afforded its playwrights only two theaters. That's not the case here. Here, sentence is trying to refer London of a particular time, a time when London had only two theaters. Option-B is correct here.
I know a London looks odd, but that is correct here.

[Patrick_GMATFix]

Intended meaning: Playwrights in London had only two theaters available to them. Still, Alpha B. had had 17 plays staged by 1687.

> play rights is not the same as playwrights. The latter are people who write plays. The former seems to refer to rights themselves. Eliminate D and E.

> "only" should be placed in front of what it restricts (or in some cases at the end of the sentence). Playwrights only were afforded two theaters < "Playwrights were afforded only two theaters" or "X afforded its playwrights only two theaters". In this case, because we want "only" to limit the number of theaters, we should place it in front of theater Eliminate C and E ("only were afforded")

> the only distinction between A and B is "a" in front of London. This makes all the difference. "a" is needed to show that we're talking about a particular version of London (late 17th century London). without "a", the sentence makes little sense. In fact, the original sentence is difficult to understand.

> Note that C is also weaker than B because C is written in the passive voice "playwrights were afforded theaters" whereas B is written in the active voice "a London that afforded theaters". The same passive voice weakens C, D and E. Active voice is preferred unless intended meaning or other grammatical errors force us to use passive.

> In addition to what I've already discussed, D and E can be eliminated because they incorrectly link the two ideas "London has only two theaters" and "Behn had had a lot of plays" with "and" as if the second idea flows in the same direction as the first. In this case, the two ideas are contradictory so they cannot be linked with "and".

The answer is B.

[Lifetron]

Thanx Patrick & vinayak, Great Explanation !