Sentence Correction

When drive-ins were at the height of their popularity in the late 1950’s, some 4,000
existed in the United States, but today there are less than one-quarter that many.
A. there are less than one-quarter that many
B. there are fewer than one-quarter as many
C. there are fewer than one-quarter of that amount
D. the number is less than one-quarter the amount
E. it is less than one-quarter of that amount


OA - C Pls explain...is usage of 'of that amount' appropriate?[/spoiler]

"there are fewer than one-quarter as that of" I was looking for this one....Will go for B as its short n logical...

As far as i Know "Number" is used with countable noun while "Amount" with Non Countable noun & since cars here are countable (<4000) , i think in place of "there are fewer than one-quarter of that amount" answer should be "there are fewer than one-quarter of that number"

fewer works well with countable noun so (A),(D),(E) are out

Please feel free to correct

IMO,

The usage of fewer is important here as we are talking drive-ins. (countable) A, D, E are out.

Coming on to B and C.

[spoiler](C)[/spoiler] is better as it clearly refers to 'some 4000' with the usage of 'of that amount'

@aj5105

As far as i Know "Number" is used with countable noun while "Amount" with Non Countable noun & since cars here are countable (<4000) how can (C) be correct option

Is this query clarfied? I also carry the same query. Amount is used for non-countable nouns. If it is refering to "some 4000", isn't it countable?

crackgmat007 wrote:When drive-ins were at the height of their popularity in the late 1950’s, some 4,000
existed in the United States, but today there are less than one-quarter that many.
A. there are less than one-quarter that many
B. there are fewer than one-quarter as many
C. there are fewer than one-quarter of that amount
D. the number is less than one-quarter the amount
E. it is less than one-quarter of that amount


OA - C Pls explain...is usage of 'of that amount' appropriate?[/spoiler]

What is the source of this question? Also, can you provide the OE? IMO the answer should be B. We are dealing with countable noun in this case.

aj5105 wrote:IMO,

The usage of fewer is important here as we are talking drive-ins. (countable) A, D, E are out.

Coming on to B and C.

[spoiler](C)[/spoiler] is better as it clearly refers to 'some 4000' with the usage of 'of that amount'

aj, whats wrong with as many....
i am not sure whether every time u have to use as many as.....
i think we can use as many in cases like these.
Please correct me if i am wrong..
By the way i know that correct idiom is as many as.. but please tell me why in this case we can not use as many..

I too strongly feel B is the answer, though C would have been a better option had the statement used 'number' in place of 'amount'. Very ambiguous...
What's the OA and source?