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greater differences!

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greater differences!

by gmat_perfect » Tue Aug 17, 2010 11:30 am
Though certain breeds of dog are renowned for their sense of smell, there is often a greater difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as there is between members of different breeds.

(A) is often a greater difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as there is
(B) is often more difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as to find one
(C) is often a greater difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed than
(D) are often greater differences in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as there are
(E) are often greater differences in scenting ability between two members of a single breed than there is

[spoiler]OA: E[/spoiler]

Is it testing only "greater.........than"?

Thanks.
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by beatthegmatinsept » Tue Aug 17, 2010 11:41 am
Though certain breeds of dog are renowned for their sense of smell, there is often a greater difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as there is between members of different breeds.

(A) is often a greater difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as there is
(B) is often more difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as to find one
(C) is often a greater difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed than
(D) are often greater differences in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as there are
(E) are often greater differences in scenting ability between two members of a single breed than there is

[spoiler]OA: E[/spoiler]
A uses 'IS' for 'certain breeds of dogs' which is a plural. The verb 'are' is correct.
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by reply2spg » Tue Aug 17, 2010 12:21 pm
I am not convienced with E, what is wrong with C?
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by beatthegmatinsept » Tue Aug 17, 2010 12:36 pm
The more I look at C and E, the more I get myself confused.
Whats the source of this question?
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by ashish2104 » Wed Aug 18, 2010 4:17 am
If the subject of 'there' is breeds then use of 'are' is justified
If the subject of 'there' is difference, then use of 'is' is correct.

I think the subject of 'there' is generally in preposistional phrase. But there are also cases wherein 'there' has no subject.

Can some expert comment on this?
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by crackverbal » Wed Aug 18, 2010 4:59 am
1. 'more.... than', or 'greater... than' is the correct idiomatic usage and not 'greater ...as', or 'more ...as' so A, B and D are out.

2. E is wrong because of 2 reasons:
1. verb error:
there are often greater differences in scenting ability between two members of a single breed than there is
You always compare same quantity in either side of your comparison.

2. plurality:
The ability of scent is just 1 and hence there is a difference. If there are more than one point (as in the case of differences in opinion) then it can be plural.

I think the answer should be C.

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by e-GMAT » Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:20 am
I believe that the OA for this question is incorrect. It should be C. Here is why:

Though certain breeds of dog are renowned for their sense of smell, there is often a greater difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as there is between members of different breeds.
What does the sentence mean? This sentence states a comparison. The comparison is between the following entities
1: Difference in scenting ability between 2 members of a single breed
2: Difference in scenting ability between 2 members of different breeds
The sentence states that 1 is greater than 2

What are the errors in the original sentence? To determine the errors we should first understand the sentence structure:
1: Though certain breeds of dog are renowned for their sense of smell,
2: there is often a greater difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as there is between members of different breeds.

Clause 2 has inverted structure. In order to identify the correct SV, we need to write this sentence is normal structure:
The difference in scenting ability between 2 members of a single breed is often greater than the difference in scenting ability between members of different breeds.
The SV pair has been identified as shown above. It is important to note that "there" is not a subject here.
The original sentence has only 1 error = idiom greater..as is incorrect. It should be greater..than.

Process of Elimination: Based on idiom error, we can eliminate choices A, B, and D. This leaves Choices C and E.

(A) is often a greater difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as there is
(B) is often more difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as to find one
(D) are often greater differences in scenting ability between two members of a single breed as there are
(C) is often a greater difference in scenting ability between two members of a single breed than
Correct answer.
(E) are often greater differences in scenting ability between two members of a single breed than there is
Incorrect because it sets incorrect comparison as shown (as explained by crackverbal as well)
differences in x between "abc" are greater than it is between "xyz"

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Payal
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