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Need expert help :( price/cost high/low/more

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Need expert help :( price/cost high/low/more

by voodoo_child » Sat Aug 06, 2011 8:01 am
What's the rule for using price/cost with high/low/more? Can anyone please help me?

I have seen/heard - lower cost; the price of x is more than that of y. not sure about the distinction when we use "cost". I am completely lost.

MGMAT says that we MUST use less for "time, distance and money". Ok. But, how would that explain "lower costs."

OG loves this. I believe that I clearly know the exact difference.

Thanks
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by GmatKiss » Sat Aug 06, 2011 8:10 am
https://www.beatthegmat.com/finalizing-c ... 85596.html

Hope this helps.
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by voodoo_child » Sat Aug 06, 2011 10:40 am
thanks for the link. i have already gone thru Emily's post a few times. i am specifically looking for quantifiers in relation to cost/price. doesnt help me. sorry.
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by Tani » Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:28 pm
when cost is used as a verb you use more "X costs more than Y" ("more is an adverb).
When cost is a noun, you use an adjective with it. That is a high cost product.
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by voodoo_child » Sun Aug 07, 2011 6:38 am
Is the rule same for price and cost?
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by SticklorForDetails » Sun Aug 07, 2011 8:09 am
As Tani explained, the clearest way to address this is to see if you need an adjective or an adverb. "Cost," when used as a verb, can only be modified by an adverb, so it has to be "more/less" and not "high/low." When used as a noun, it should be modified by "high/low."

"Price" can only be used as a noun, so it will only be modified by "high/low." If used as a passive verb, idiomatically we still use "high/low," such as, "The beans are priced higher now than last week."

Hope that helps.
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by voodoo_child » Mon Aug 08, 2011 3:14 pm
Adam,

If I understand correctly, "The price of pens is higher than price of pencils" is incorrect.

A quick question -

What's the difference between the following two sentences ?

The price of pens is more than price of pencils.

vs

The price of pens is greater than price of pencils

I understand that "greater" is used for statistical quantities like density, population etc. I am not sure about the usage in the above context. I am a bit confused.

Appreciate your help.

Thanks
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by eastcoastrocks » Mon Aug 08, 2011 4:49 pm
Ya same here. I also have similar confusion. Thanks voodoo_child for bringing this up.
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by SticklorForDetails » Fri Aug 12, 2011 10:15 am
"The price of pens is higher than the price of pencils" is fine. Here, "higher" is an adjective modifying "price," so it's no problem.

"The price of pens is more than the price of pencils" would also be okay, but slightly less preferable, because we're talking about a number, not a quantity (that is, $3 vs. $2, as opposed to 30 pens vs. 20 pencils)

"The price of pens is greater than the price of pencils" is wrong. Prices do not have sizes, and greater only modifies size/magnitude. You wouldn't say, in American English, "That is a great price" (unless you meant that it was a very good price) or "that is a large price." You would say "That is a high price."

However, "greater" can idiomatically modify "cost," so you could say "The cost of pens is greater than the cost of pencils."

I have to add to this discussion that none of this would ever be tested on the GMAT like this. Because all these rules are somewhat subjective and controversial usage rules of American English, they can't get away with a question where the only difference is "high price" or "more price," because people will answer it differently based on their backgrounds and so the question will end up being thrown out. Remember that all real GMAT questions have one objective answer as determined by the test-taking population. While these discussions are fun to have, I don't want you (or anyone else) thinking too hard about minute usage rules as test day is fast approaching!

=)
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