These are the problems that give me a difficult time too. If anyone could explain this, it would be greatly appreciated.

It's D

chaya009 wrote:The Chinese Army consists of several young men, about equivalent to the enrollment of colleges in India.
A. same
B. the equivalent of those enrolled in
C. equal to those who are enrolled in
D. as many as the enrollment of
E. as many as are enrolled in

OA E I chose the wrong answer.

a) comparison is b/n the no. of young men about is not used for comparison wrng
b) young men are being compared rather their numbers
c)same as B( those is reffering to young men)
d)comparison is made b/n no. and enrollment
E) the only left

Its indeed E.


simple is this question.

One more for E..Basically it tests about of usage of " comparisons"

IMO E.

explanation by thephoenix is good.

Moreover, the original sentence has a hint of uncertainty in it, as it uses 'about equivalent' .

So, you can straightaway strike-off an option which gives you comparison results with certainty. (B and C gone!)


between D and E :

the option which tells us that number of young men in Chinese Army are almost equal to the number of men who are enrolled in colleges in India .

E it is!

A. same --> does not make any sense at all. comparing
several young men with colleges in India.
B. equivalent should be used for uncountable modifiers such as
say money, intelligence, talent etc.
C. Conveys incorrect meaning as it seems to say several young men are equal to those who are enrolled in college.
Intention is to convey that count of several young men is equal to count of those enrolled in college.
D. comparing several young men to enrollment of colleges - does not make sense.
E. Only E stands out. comparing number of young men in Chinese Army with number of those enrolled in colleges in India.

For those that understand these types of questions, what source did you guys use? Just Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction Guide?

Is there ever a time to use "equivalent of" or is the proper usage always as many as?

osirus, did you study the Odds and Ends chapter from Manhattan SC Guide? This topic is covered in this chapter. I happen to study this chapter today

osirus0830 wrote:For those that understand these types of questions, what source did you guys use? Just Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction Guide?

"As many as" should be used for countable things. E.g. "As many balls as bags". I am not sure if "equivalent of" is the correct usage. I think it should be "equivalent to" as in "Milk has water equivalent to 100 ml". "Equivalent to" and "as much as" should be used for uncountable items.

osirus0830 wrote:Is there ever a time to use "equivalent of" or is the proper usage always as many as?

Its been a while since I read that chapter. I thought this would be in Chapter 8 Comparisons. Thanks, I will re-read chapter 10 tonight.

thanks for making the concepts clear.