Like Vs Such as !!

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adi_800: Legendary Member; Posts: 544; Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:14 amFollowed by: 2 members; Location: Pune, India; Thanked: 31 times

by adi_800 » Sun Oct 30, 2011 4:59 am

The market for recycled commodities like aluminum and other metals remain strong despite economic changes in the recycling industry.
A. commodities like aluminum and other metals remain
B. commodities like those of aluminum and other metals are remaining
C. commodities such as aluminum and other metals remains
D. commodities, such as aluminum and other metals, remain
E. commodities, like the commodities of aluminum and other metals, remains

There is nothing to debate about this question and question seems to be not that difficult...
But what I am surprised to see is the change of stance in the explanation provided in the verbal review..
This is what is mentioned in the explanation...
'While there has been some dispute over the use of like to mean "for example," this is an acceptable use'...
Now, what should be done when simmilar question comes up that has like and such as..
Should we eliminate options that use like straight away??
Or it would be the case, as is the case in this problem, that there would be some other error in the sentence that will provide the clue as to what should be the right answer ??

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Sun Oct 30, 2011 4:59 am

avik.ch: Legendary Member; Posts: 641; Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2011 1:15 amFollowed by: 32 members; Thanked: 149 times; GMAT Score:760

by avik.ch » Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:08 am

the correct answer is C.
'While there has been some dispute over the use of like to mean "for example," this is an acceptable use' - is it the official explanation ?

The only point of discussion is the usage of "such as" after a comma and without a comma.

The refugees were unable to carry things such as clothes, bedding, and furniture. - without a comma.
My favorite flavors of candy are fruit flavors, such as cherry and lemon - with a comma, here the list is non essential and hence need a comma.
Here we need a essential information - example of commodities. So C is correct.

We cannot use "like" here because we are not comparing anything.

I hope this helps

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Jim@Grockit: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 641; Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 3:07 pmFollowed by: 45 members; Location: Madison, WI; Thanked: 162 times; GMAT Score:760

by Jim@Grockit » Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:32 pm

Beware "like" when you are looking at a list of things the sentence means to include. If you ask for a piece of cake LIKE that one, you will get one similar to it, but will not get that exact piece. This is more important in sentences with items that lack comparable things:

The refugees were unable to carry things like furniture. (what is LIKE or SIMILAR to furniture, but not actually furniture? I can't think of anything).

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vaibhavgupta: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 416; Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:18 pmFollowed by: 9 members; Location: Delhi, India; Thanked: 13 times

by vaibhavgupta » Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:31 am

adi_800 wrote:The market for recycled commodities like aluminum and other metals remain strong despite economic changes in the recycling industry.
A. commodities like aluminum and other metals remain
B. commodities like those of aluminum and other metals are remaining
C. commodities such as aluminum and other metals remains
D. commodities, such as aluminum and other metals, remain
E. commodities, like the commodities of aluminum and other metals, remains

There is nothing to debate about this question and question seems to be not that difficult...
But what I am surprised to see is the change of stance in the explanation provided in the verbal review..
This is what is mentioned in the explanation...
'While there has been some dispute over the use of like to mean "for example," this is an acceptable use'...
Now, what should be done when simmilar question comes up that has like and such as..
Should we eliminate options that use like straight away??
Or it would be the case, as is the case in this problem, that there would be some other error in the sentence that will provide the clue as to what should be the right answer ??

IMO D

If OA is A, IMO B
If OA is B, IMO C
If OA is C, IMO D
If OA is D, IMO E
If OA is E, IMO A

FML!! :/

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