A long-term study of some 1,000 physicians indicates that

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Sun Sep 04, 2016 2:18 am

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thuyduong91vnu wrote:Hi GMATGuruNY,

I have 2 questions for this one:

1, In case we have the first part in the same structure (Adverb + Subject + Verb instead of Adjective + Noun + Modifier), does it reasonable to say "the more they had a likelihood of..." ? I just find this bold expression somewhat strange, is it a right one?

A: the more they had a likelihood
This construction seems strange because it conveys the following incorrect meaning:
They had a likelihood MORE FREQUENTLY.
The intended meaning is not that the likelihood occurred more frequently but that the likelihood was GREATER.
Eliminate A.

2, OG gave the comment that "would have a likelihood" (C choice) is a redundant expression without any explanation, is it because the meanings of "would" and "likelihood" somewhat overlap?

likelihood + FUTURE TENSE is not viable.
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thuyduong91vnu: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 27; Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2016 10:56 pm

by thuyduong91vnu » Sun Sep 04, 2016 8:24 pm

GMATGuruNY wrote: likelihood + FUTURE TENSE is not viable.
For an explanation, check my two posts here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-ex ... 82473.html

Hi GMATGuruNY,

So as far as I understand, is it OK if I modify (C) choice as:

(1) Using "would" only:
the more coffee these doctors drank, the more probably they would get coronary disease
(2) Using "likelihood" only:
the more coffee these doctors drank, the more likely they were to get coronary disease

Many thanks for your explanation!

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Mon Sep 05, 2016 8:06 am

thuyduong91vnu wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote: likelihood + FUTURE TENSE is not viable.
For an explanation, check my two posts here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-ex ... 82473.html
Hi GMATGuruNY,

So as far as I understand, is it OK if I modify (C) choice as:

(1) Using "would" only:
the more coffee these doctors drank, the more probably they would get coronary disease
(2) Using "likelihood" only:
the more coffee these doctors drank, the more likely they were to get coronary disease

Many thanks for your explanation!

The second sentence seems viable; the first is not.

probably and likely are not synonyms.
Whereas likely is an ADJECTIVE, probably is an ADVERB.
It is correct to say X is more likely than Y.
It is incorrect to say X is more probably than Y.

Last edited by GMATGuruNY on Mon Sep 05, 2016 7:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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bubblehead0922: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 19; Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2016 9:52 am

by bubblehead0922 » Mon Sep 05, 2016 7:23 pm

GMATGuruNY wrote:
Crystal W wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote:
RBBmba@2014 wrote:I'm just NOT able to understand clearly that how the NOUN + MODIFIER structure (=coffee these doctors drank) in the first clause is maintained in the OA ? How EXACTLY we're relating this structure with the second clause (=was their likelihood) in the OA ?
The more coffee these doctors drink, the greater their likelihood of having coronary disease.
In each portion:
red = comparative.
blue = noun.
green = modifier.
Here, both portions refer to the PRESENT.

If both portions are converted to the PAST, we get the OA:
The more coffee these doctors drank, the greater was their likelihood of having coronary disease.
Here, the verb was is added to the second portion to make it clear that their likelihood WAS greater IN THE PAST.
Thank you for your explanation. This question makes me so confused. Only thing is do you miss "is" at the end of your present sentence? Or we do not need the verb "is" in the present tense?
The construction here is as follows:
THE + COMPARATIVE , THE + COMPARATIVE.

Other examples:
The more John talked, the less Mary understood.
The longer the team practices, the greater its chances of winning.
The bigger the risk, the bigger the payout.

As illustrated by the portions in red, is and are may be omitted in this construction.

Hi GMATGuruNY,

Thanks for your explanation of the structure of this sentence. It makes sense to omit "is ". But I am confused about the position where the verb can be placed. I see a sentence in OG say" Manufacturers rate batteries in watt-hours; the higher the watt-hour rating, the longer the battery can be expected to last."

Here the " can be" is inserted after the subject " battery". Would you please explain the difference?

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sagarock: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 48; Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:11 am

by sagarock » Mon Sep 05, 2016 11:59 pm

Hii gmatguru,i would like to know the role of 'of having' here,as 'having' is mostly incorrect in sentence and also the correct usage of 'having' in general?
I know for example comma +having,
john was tired,having spent two days in camping.

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Tue Sep 06, 2016 5:24 am

bubblehead0922 wrote:But I am confused about the position where the verb can be placed. I see a sentence in OG say" Manufacturers rate batteries in watt-hours; the higher the watt-hour rating, the longer the battery can be expected to last."

Here the " can be" is inserted after the subject " battery". Would you please explain the difference?

In the second half of a comparison, the verb will in some cases precede the subject:
A salad contains more nutrients than does chocolate.
In other cases, the verb will follow the subject:
A salad contains more nutrients than chocolate does.
Both of the sentences above are correct.
Do not worry about the placement of the verb in the second half of a comparison.
Look for other reasons reasons to eliminate answer choices.

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Tue Sep 06, 2016 5:53 am

sagarock wrote:Hii gmatguru,i would like to know the role of 'of having' here,as 'having' is mostly incorrect in sentence and also the correct usage of 'having' in general?
I know for example comma +having,
john was tired,having spent two days in camping.

A gerund is a VERBing that serves as NOUN.
OA: their likelihood of having coronary disease
Here, the blue portion is a gerund phrase serving as the object of the preposition of.
Question: their likelihood of WHAT?
Answer: their likelihood OF HAVING CORONARY DISEASE.

having is more likely to be misused when it serves not as a noun but as a modifier.
Check my three posts here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/anti-poverty ... tml#728526 (3 posts)

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evs.teja: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 64; Joined: Tue May 22, 2012 10:44 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by evs.teja » Thu Sep 08, 2016 3:49 am

GMATGuruNY wrote: Dear Mitch,
Would you be kind enough to clear the following doubts?
This will definitely help me in the long run.
Here, these doctors drank is an ADJECTIVE serving to describe coffee.
What KIND of coffee?
coffee THESE DOCTORS DRANK.
This part is crystal clear very well explained.
I am having trouble with more in option B: more was their likelihood of having coronary disease and greater in option D:greater was their likelihood of having coronary disease.
Is there a technique such as the one you mentioned above to find out that more/greater is an adjective ?

A: the more coffee these doctors drank, the more they had
C: the more coffee these doctors drank, the more they would have
But each of the portions in red consists of SUBJECT + VERB.
Result:
NOUN + MODIFIER (coffee these doctors drank) and SUBJECT + VERB (the two portions in red) are not parallel.
Eliminate A and C.

The more they had a likelihood of coronary disease. This seems to be a clause.
Here how is MORE acting as a Adverb?
Is there a general technique for finding adverbs ?
Generally , I learnt for a sentence How does the trick to find an adverb.
For eg The dog killed the cat quickly.
How did the dog kill the cat ?
He killed her quickly.
But am not able to apply the same rule here.
Please help me out !!!

Regards
Teja

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GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Fri Sep 09, 2016 4:47 am

evs.teja wrote:I am having trouble with more in option B: more was their likelihood of having coronary disease and greater in option D:greater was their likelihood of having coronary disease.
Is there a technique such as the one you mentioned above to find out that more/greater is an adjective ?

Many SCs are about data points: a cost, a price, a likelihood, etc.
A data point cannot be more.
A data point can only be higher, greater, lower, etc.

Incorrect: The likelihood of X is more than the likelihood of Y.
Correct: The likelihood of X is GREATER than the likelihood of Y.

Is there a general technique for finding adverbs ?
Generally , I learnt for a sentence How does the trick to find an adverb.
For eg The dog killed the cat quickly.
How did the dog kill the cat ?
He killed her quickly.
But am not able to apply the same rule here.
Please help me out !!!

Regards
Teja

The faster John dances, the more he smiles.
Here, the modifiers in blue are both ADVERBS, the first expressing how fast John DANCES, the second expressing the extent to which John SMILES.
In each portion of the comparison, the structure is the same:
the + COMPARATIVE + SUBJECT + VERB.
In this structure, the comparative will typically serve as an adverb modifying the following verb.

A: the more coffee these doctors drank, the more they had
C: the more coffee these doctors drank, the more they would have
In these options, the modifiers in red are each followed by SUBJECT + VERB, so each seems to be an adverb modifying the following verb.

Your method for identifying an adverb is sound.
It does not work for A and C because these options distort the intended meaning.

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[email protected]: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 181; Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 2:27 pmFollowed by: 8 members

by [email protected] » Tue Feb 19, 2019 4:58 pm

Hello Everyone!

Wow - this is a tricky question! Let's take a closer look at it to figure out how to arrive at the correct answer quickly! Before we get started, here is the original question with the major differences highlighted in orange:

A long-term study of some 1,000 physicians indicates that the more coffee these doctors drank, the more they had a likelihood of coronary disease.

(A) more they had a likelihood of coronary disease
(B) more was their likelihood of having coronary disease
(C) more they would have a likelihood to have coronary disease
(D) greater was their likelihood of having coronary disease
(E) greater was coronary disease likely

We first need to address the more vs. greater debate. For this particular sentence, here is how we need to interpret the rule:

more = countable objects / uncountable things that increase

The longer you study for your exams, the more pencils you'll need to sharpen to take notes.
My youngest child has more temper tantrums than her older sister.
(Both pencils and temper tantrums are items you can count.)

greater = nouns that are acting as, or taking the place of, a number (area, price, volume, distance, percentage, likelihood, chances, etc.)

The area of Australia is greater than that of Texas.
(The area of Australia is a number - square kilometers, acres, square miles, etc. They just don't tell us the exact number in the sentence.)

The percentage of teenagers who fail their first driver's test is greater than those who pass.
(A percentage is always a number...they just don't tell us the exact number in the sentence.)

The more/greater in this sentence is referring back to "likelihood," which is actually a noun acting as a number/percentage! The likelihood that doctors will develop coronary disease is a percentage (30%, 60%, 1 in 3, etc.). The sentence just doesn't tell us the actual percentage - it just says that there is one, and that will increase if doctors drink more coffee. Therefore, it makes the most sense to use "greater" in this case.

Therefore, we can eliminate options A, B, & C because they use "more" incorrectly.

Now that we're only left with two options, let's see which option is the better choice:

(D) greater was their likelihood of having coronary disease

This is CORRECT because the word "greater" is correctly referring to the likelihood of a doctor developing coronary disease, not the disease itself!

(E) greater was coronary disease likely

This is INCORRECT because it muddles up the meaning. The thing that's greater in this sentence is the likelihood a doctor gets coronary disease, not the coronary disease itself.

There you have it - option D is the correct choice!

Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.

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vietnam47: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 110; Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2018 11:19 pmFollowed by: 1 member

by vietnam47 » Tue Aug 13, 2019 8:12 pm

thank you Hunt for teaching us about parallelism. it is great.

look at the problem at different viewpoint.
in A, likelihood of coronary disease is wrong. likelihood must go with a different kind of noun such as action noun.
in E, greater modifies what? it can not modify likely, or was, or disease.
in C, would have is not parallel with "drank".

B and D are left. only now , we focus on the difference between greater and more. only now we are able to see the difference between the 2 words.

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