Sentence Correction

Salt deposits and moisture threaten to destroy the Mohenjo-Daro excavation in Pakistan, the site of an ancient civilization that flourished at the same time as the civilizations in the Nile delta and the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates.

(A) that flourished at the same time as the civilizations
(B) that had flourished at the same time as had the civilizations
(C) that flourished at the same time those had
(D) flourishing at the same time as those did
(E) flourishing at the same time as those were




Answer was A. But why is it 'as' instead of 'like'? Ok, probably the verb 'did' was omitted because it is redundant to repeat. However it is can I use 'like' instead?
Salt deposits and moisture threaten to destroy the Mohenjo-Daro excavation in Pakistan, the site of an ancient civilization that flourished at the same time 'like' the civilizations in the Nile delta and the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates. -> will this be still correct?

gettingwanderlust wrote:Salt deposits and moisture threaten to destroy the Mohenjo-Daro excavation in Pakistan, the site of an ancient civilization that flourished at the same time as the civilizations in the Nile delta and the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates.

(A) that flourished at the same time as the civilizations
(B) that had flourished at the same time as had the civilizations
(C) that flourished at the same time those had
(D) flourishing at the same time as those did
(E) flourishing at the same time as those were




Answer was A. But why is it 'as' instead of 'like'? Ok, probably the verb 'did' was omitted because it is redundant to repeat. However it is can I use 'like' instead?
Salt deposits and moisture threaten to destroy the Mohenjo-Daro excavation in Pakistan, the site of an ancient civilization that flourished at the same time 'like' the civilizations in the Nile delta and the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates. -> will this be still correct?

Actually you really need as there.

The use of the word like creates a sentence that seems to possibly convey, at best, that the same time was like the civilizations in the Nile Delta...

What the clause is actually meant to convey is that one civilization flourished at the same time as other civilizations flourished...

Maybe you are attempting to apply a rule the application of which does not make sense here.

If this were not a GMAT question, would you still think it should be an ancient civilization that flourished at the same time like the civilizations in the Nile Delta...?

Great question, gettingwanderlust!

To make a comparison between two things that are equal (in this case, the time the civilizations flourished), the GMAT will often use "the same... as..." or "as... as..."

For example:

Correct: I'm the same age as my brother-we're twins!
Not only that, he's exactly as tall as I am.

Incorrect: I'm the same age like my brother-we're twins!
Not only that, he's exactly as tall like I am.

So, in SC question #89, the first civilization flourished at the same time as the others. The GMAT considers it incorrect to say it flourished at the same time like the others.

People often use like and as interchangeably in everyday speech, but the correct idiom here is "the same... as..." and the GMAT will often test you on constructions like these. (And that's a good place to use like-to make a comparison between two or more nouns or their characteristics.)

Keep asking good questions! Good questions lead to learning ☺