The “Hermit Kingdom” is increasingly isolating itself because of its nuclear ambition that threatens its neighbourhood and the world at large.

Identify the correct phrase to replace the underlined part:

(I) isolated because of

(II) isolating themselves because of

(III) isolated themselves because of their

Question

The “Hermit Kingdom” is increasingly isolating itself because of its nuclear ambition that threatens its neighbourhood and the world at large.

Identify the correct phrase to replace the underlined part:

(I) isolated because of

(II) isolating themselves because of

(III) isolated themselves because of their

Accepted Answer

**Solution:**

1. The sentence is in the Present Continuous tense, describing an ongoing action: "is increasingly isolating."

2. The subject "The Hermit Kingdom" is singular, so the reflexive pronoun "itself" correctly refers back to the singular subject.

3. Option (I) "isolated because of" is incorrect because it changes the tense and voice, making the sentence passive and inconsistent.

4. Option (II) "isolating themselves because of" is incorrect because "themselves" is a plural reflexive pronoun, which does not agree with the singular subject.

5. Option (III) "isolated themselves because of their" is grammatically incorrect due to tense and pronoun disagreement.

Hence, the original sentence is grammatically correct and requires no correction.

**Answer:** No correction required

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