Compare with vs Compare to

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kendogg: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 3; Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2006 6:23 pm

by kendogg » Thu Dec 06, 2007 9:17 pm

Many investors base their choice between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields to the dividends available on common stocks.

(A) between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields to
(B) among bonds and stocks on comparisons of bond yields to
(C) between bonds and stocks on comparisons of bond yields with
(D) among bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields and
(E) between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields with

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Thu Dec 06, 2007 9:17 pm

me4mba: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 26; Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:33 am; Thanked: 8 times

by me4mba » Fri Dec 07, 2007 10:00 am

Between "among" and "between", I'd go with "between" because 2 things are being compared here: bonds and stocks.

Between compare "to" and compare "with", I'd go with compare "with" because you are trying to differentiate / make a distinction between the two.

So I'm down to C & E. I'll go with E because I'm not sure about the structure "comparison of X with Y".

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bushra: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:32 am; Location: canada

by bushra » Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:57 pm

IMO the answer should be C

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Danielle: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 215; Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2007 2:59 pmFollowed by: 3 members; Location: Mississippi; Thanked: 21 times

by Danielle » Fri Dec 07, 2007 8:27 pm

The answer is C.

You guys are right about "between" being the correct choice over "among", so B and D can be immediately eliminated. Then it comes down to compare to or compare with. I did a little digging for the rule on this one (I didn't know offhand) and I found:

Use 'compare to' for simple comparisons of two things that are alike, or to illustrate that two things are similar, i.e. Shall i compare thee to a summer's day?

Use 'compare with' to place two things side by side and examining their similarities or differences, i.e. You can compare the American Revolution with the French Revolution to illustrate the impact of John Locke's writings on international politics.

Based on this rule, it is clear that "compare with" is the right choice, there fore A is eliminated. Lastly C corrects the 'comparing' to 'comparisons' which is correct. In the sentence their decision is based on the comparison (noun), not based on comparing (gerund/adjective).

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