F. Comparisons
You should compare only things
that can be logically compared. Faulty comparisons account for
a significant number of errors in GMAT Sentence Correction questions.
Most relate to the very simple idea that YOU CAN'T COMPARE APPLES
TO ORANGES. You want to compare things that are grammatically
similar; you also want to compare things that are logically similar.
For instance, you can't logically compare a person to a quality
or an item to a group. You have to compare one individual to
another, one quality to another, or one group to another.
You should look out for key comparison
words, such as:
|
like |
as |
compared to |
|
less than |
more than |
other |
|
that of |
those of |
|
A number of constructions
call for you to always express ideas in parallel form. These
constructions include
Either X or Y...
Neither X nor Y...
Not only X but also Y...
X or Y can stand for as little as one word
or as much as a whole clause, but in any case, the grammatical
structure of X or Y must be identical.
wrong: The view from this apartment is not
nearly as spectacular as from that mountain lodge.
right: The view from this apartment
is not nearly as spectacular as the one from that mountain lodge.
Check to see whether the comparison is both logical (according
to the standards of GMAT English) and grammatical.
1. Jerry gives less to charity
than any other church member.
You want to compare what Jerry
gives to what any other church member contributes. The simplest
way to fix this and make it suitable GMAT English is to add a
"does" after "church member". Thus, the statement
now directly compares what Jerry gives to what other church members
give. (Note: if Jerry were to give something quantifiable, like
dollars then it would be, "Jerry gives fewer
dollars..." instead of less.)
2. The newer model weighed 20
pounds less than that of the older model.
It has to be either: "The
newer model weighed 20 pounds less than the older model did."
or "The newer model's weight was 20 pounds less than that
of the older model."
3. The sports writer questioned
the skill of basketball players compared to tennis players.
It has to be "the skill
of basketball players" compared to that of "tennis
players." It must be phrased the "skill of basketball
players compared to the skill of tennis players."
w G. Idioms
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