Despite ______ extensive experience in petroleum engineering, Tariq decided to pursue an advanced degree in artificial intelligence.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. having
- Step 1: Analyze grammar: 'Despite' is a preposition and must be followed by a noun phrase, pronoun, or gerund.
- Step 2: The gerund 'having' correctly completes the prepositional phrase without creating an ungrammatical finite clause.
Answer
having.
Why not the others: 'he had' creates an ungrammatical finite clause following a preposition; 'his having had' is unnecessarily wordy and awkward; 'that he has' requires 'in spite of the fact that'.
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