OG Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers

Expert replies

Previous Topic Next Topic

AbeNeedsAnswers: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 394; Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2017 10:59 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 1 times

by AbeNeedsAnswers » Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:45 pm

Timer

00:00

Answers

Stats

Difficulty—

Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than a similar period a year earlier.
A. a similar period
B. a similar period's
C. in a similar period
D. that in a similar period
E. that of a similar period

C

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:45 pm

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Tue Oct 24, 2017 3:12 am

AbeNeedsAnswers wrote:Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than a similar period a year earlier.
A. a similar period
B. a similar period's
C. in a similar period
D. that in a similar period
E. that of a similar period

C

I received a PM requesting that I explain the error in D.

In D, that seems to stand in for the circulation, as follows:
D: Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than the circulation in a similar period a year earlier.
Here, the phrase in blue refers to the sales figures for each newspaper:
Newspaper A = 1,000,000 copies.
Newspaper B = 900,000 copies.
Newspaper C = 875,000 copies.
But the phrase in red -- THE circulation -- implies that a year earlier ONE SPECIFIC CIRCULATION was shared by all of the newspapers.
It is illogical to compare the different sales figures for each newspaper to one specific circulation.
Eliminate D.

The OA implies the following:
Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than [they had circulation] in a similar period a year earlier.
Here, the words in brackets are omitted but implied.
The result is a logical comparison: the sales figures for each newspaper from October 1995 through March 1996 are compared to the sales figures for each newspaper in a similar period a year earlier.

Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.

As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.

For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3

Like this post

iongmat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 193; Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 5:14 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 6 times

by iongmat » Tue Oct 24, 2017 10:25 pm

Thanks for responding to my PM Mitch.

Had a quick follow up question. Why can't D be interpreted as:

Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than (most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had) that in a similar period a year earlier.

Here, the portion in blue is the elliptical part.

So, this does seem to be comparing how much most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had:
i) circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996
ii) circulation in a similar period a year earlier

Appreciate, as always.

Like this post

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Wed Oct 25, 2017 4:11 am

iongmat wrote:Thanks for responding to my PM Mitch.

Had a quick follow up question. Why can't D be interpreted as:

Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than (most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had) that in a similar period a year earlier.

Here, the portion in blue is the elliptical part.

So, this does seem to be comparing how much most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had:
i) circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996
ii) circulation in a similar period a year earlier

Appreciate, as always.

Note the following:
that cannot stand in for circulation IN GENERAL.
It must stand in for ONE SPECIFIC CIRCULATION.

Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had that in a similar period a year earlier.
Here -- because the comparison is illogical -- the referent for that is unclear.
The implied comparison seems to be as follows:
Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than THE circulation in a similar period a year earlier.
As noted in my post above, the phrase in blue refers to the sales figures for each newspaper:
Newspaper A = 1,000,000 copies.
Newspaper B = 900,000 copies.
Newspaper C = 875,000 copies.
But the phrase in red -- THE circulation -- implies that a year earlier ONE SPECIFIC CIRCULATION was shared by all of the newspapers.
It is illogical to compare the different sales figures for each newspaper to one specific circulation.
As a result, the sentence is incomprehensible.

Generally, SUBJECT + FORM OF TO HAVE + COMPARATIVE should not be followed that or those.
Incorrect: The company had higher profits in 1990 than those in 1980.
Correct: The company had higher profits in 1990 than in 1980.

Like this post

iongmat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 193; Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 5:14 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 6 times

by iongmat » Thu Nov 09, 2017 3:30 am

Hi Mitch, I came across the following:

In addition to having more protein than wheat does, rice has protein of higher quality than that in wheat, with more of the amino acids essential to the human diet.

This seems to have the structure

SUBJECT + FORM OF TO HAVE + COMPARATIVE, but is followed by that.

Appreciate your response.

Like this post

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Thu Nov 09, 2017 3:55 am

iongmat wrote:Hi Mitch, I came across the following:

In addition to having more protein than wheat does, rice has protein of higher quality than that in wheat, with more of the amino acids essential to the human diet.

This seems to have the structure

SUBJECT + FORM OF TO HAVE + COMPARATIVE, but is followed by that.

Appreciate your response.

Rice has protein of higher quality than that in wheat.
Here, has is followed not by a comparative but a NOUN (protein).
Thus, the rule in my post above does not apply.

Like this post

iongmat: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 193; Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 5:14 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 6 times

by iongmat » Thu Nov 09, 2017 8:48 am

ok. So, the sentence is:

Rice has protein of higher quality than that in wheat.

Instead of this, if the sentence had been:

Rice has higher quality protein than that in wheat.

Then the sentence would be incorrect. Is my understanding right?

This is really proving to be quite confusing.

Like this post

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Thu Nov 09, 2017 12:24 pm

iongmat wrote:ok. So, the sentence is:

Rice has protein of higher quality than that in wheat.

Instead of this, if the sentence had been:

Rice has higher quality protein than that in wheat.

Then the sentence would be incorrect. Is my understanding right?

This is really proving to be quite confusing.

Your understanding is correct.
Generally, COMPARATIVE + than serves to compare one clause to another, even if portions of the clauses are omitted but implied.

Rice has protein of higher quality than that in wheat.
Here, the following comparison is implied:
Rice has protein [that is] of higher quality than the protein in wheat [is of high quality].
The implied clause in blue is compared to the implied clause in red.
The two implied usages of is serve to compare the state-of-being of the first protein to the state-of-being of the second protein.
In short:
Each protein IS of a particular level of quality.

Rice has higher quality protein than that in wheat.
Here, no action or state-of-being is attributed to the two phrases in red.
Since it is unclear what clauses are being compared, the sentence is not viable.

Like this post

Mo2men: Legendary Member; Posts: 712; Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 4:39 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 14 times

OG Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers

by Mo2men » Mon Apr 15, 2019 4:18 am

GMATGuruNY wrote: Generally, SUBJECT + FORM OF TO HAVE + COMPARATIVE should not be followed that or those.
Incorrect: The company had higher profits in 1990 than those in 1980.
Correct: The company had higher profits in 1990 than in 1980.

Dear Mitch
In your example above: Why 'those' is wrong? is the meaning clear as follows:

The company had higher profits in 1990 than the company had profits in 1980.

or

The company had higher profits in 1990 than profits in 1980 that the company had

If both meanings are incorrect, what is the correct meaning here?

Thanks

Like this post

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

by GMATGuruNY » Tue Apr 16, 2019 3:18 am

Mo2men wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote: Generally, SUBJECT + FORM OF TO HAVE + COMPARATIVE should not be followed that or those.
Incorrect:
The company had higher profits in 1990 than those in 1980.
Correct:
The company had higher profits in 1990 than in 1980.
Dear Mitch
In your example above: Why 'those' is wrong? is the meaning clear as follows:

The company had higher profits in 1990 than the company had profits in 1980.

This is the comparison conveyed by the green sentence above.
Here, each blue portion has a subject (the company) and a verb (had) and thus constitutes a clause.
The result is a logical comparison.

or

The company had higher profits in 1990 than profits in 1980 that the company had

This is the comparison implied by the incorrect red sentence above.
The first blue portion has a subject (the company) and a verb (had) and thus constitutes a CLAUSE.
The second blue portion has a noun phrase (profits in 1980) and a that-modifier (that the company had) but no main verb and thus does NOT constitute a clause.
The result is an illogical comparison.

Like this post

Mo2men: Legendary Member; Posts: 712; Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 4:39 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 14 times

OG Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers

by Mo2men » Wed Apr 24, 2019 2:42 am

GMATGuruNY wrote:
Mo2men wrote:
GMATGuruNY wrote: Generally, SUBJECT + FORM OF TO HAVE + COMPARATIVE should not be followed that or those.
Incorrect:
The company had higher profits in 1990 than those in 1980.
Correct:
The company had higher profits in 1990 than in 1980.
Dear Mitch
In your example above: Why 'those' is wrong? is the meaning clear as follows:

The company had higher profits in 1990 than the company had profits in 1980.
This is the comparison conveyed by the green sentence above.
Here, each blue portion has a subject (the company) and a verb (had) and thus constitutes a clause.
The result is a logical comparison.

Dear GMATGuru,

1- Which is true to construct the following sentence:

A : The profits of my company are HIGHER than THOSE of any other company in the region [ARE].

B: The profits of my company are MORE than THOSE of any other company in the region [ARE].

Here, profits are plural so it seems countable like cars, chairs..etc but it makes no sense consider countable. So we should use HIGHER to mean an AMOUNT of profits.

2- Regarding the rule : SUBJECT + FORM OF TO HAVE + COMPARATIVE should not be followed that or those

The following follows the structure above but it has no meaning:

The Pacific Ocean has a greater depth than any other ocean.

Is it correct to re-write?
The Pacific Ocean has a greater depth than THAT of any other ocean. ..............here THAT refers to depth.

if true, What are the CLAUSES being compared?

3- Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than in a similar period a year earlier.

Why 'lower' is used instead of 'less'?

Your thoughts is highly appreciated

Like this post

GMATGuruNY: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15539; Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pmFollowed by: 1906 members; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 13060 times; GMAT Score:790

comparisons

by GMATGuruNY » Fri Apr 26, 2019 3:37 am

Mo2men wrote:Dear GMATGuru,

1- Which is true to construct the following sentence:

A : The profits of my company are HIGHER than THOSE of any other company in the region [ARE].

B: The profits of my company are MORE than THOSE of any other company in the region [ARE].

Here, profits are plural so it seems countable like cars, chairs..etc but it makes no sense consider countable. So we should use HIGHER to mean an AMOUNT of profits.

Plural terms such as profits, revenues, costs, etc. refer to NUMERICAL VALUES.
When comparing plural terms that refer to numerical values, we generally do not use more but instead use -ER comparatives such as higher, lower, greater, etc.
Thus, the blue sentence above is correct; the red sentence is not.

2- Regarding the rule : SUBJECT + FORM OF TO HAVE + COMPARATIVE should not be followed that or those

The following follows the structure above but has no meaning:

The Pacific Ocean has a greater depth than any other ocean.

The sentence above is not incorrect, but the intended meaning can be expressed more directly as follows:
The Pacific Ocean is deeper than any other ocean.

Is it correct to re-write?
The Pacific Ocean has a greater depth than THAT of any other ocean.[..............here THAT refers to depth.

if true, What are the CLAUSES being compared?

The sentence above is incorrect.
As noted in my earlier post:
SUBJECT + FORM OF TO HAVE + COMPARATIVE should not be followed that or those.

3- Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than in a similar period a year earlier.

Why 'lower' is used instead of 'less'?

Your thoughts is highly appreciated

Here, circulation refers to a numerical value: the number of copies sold.
For a numerical value, an -ER comparative such as lower is appropriate.

Like this post

vietnam47: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 110; Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2018 11:19 pmFollowed by: 1 member

by vietnam47 » Wed Jul 24, 2019 5:41 am

AbeNeedsAnswers wrote:Most of the country's biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than a similar period a year earlier.
A. a similar period
B. a similar period's
C. in a similar period
D. that in a similar period
E. that of a similar period

C

this is one more terrible comparison question. I am confused between choice c and d.
possibly, we should remember one pattern of comparison in which "that/those" is not necessary.
I want to say something of choice d.
"that in a similar period a year earlier". if we write this way, "in a similar period a year earlier " modifies "that", which is "circulation" and, so, works as adjective. but in the preceding part of comparison, " in the six month...." work as an adverb. this is not parallel and, so, will make illogical meaning.
so, the sentence is
most daily newspaper had lower circulation in this period than the circulation in latter period had lowe circulation.

to make logic comparison, the 2 corresponding elements must be of the same grammatical role in the 2 clauses . this is to make logic parallelism and comparison.

choice d change the phrase "in the similar period" into adjective phrase and make unparalleled illogical comparison.

so, in this case, "that/those" destroy logical comparison and should be cut off.

am i correct?

Like this post

Post new topic Locked

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

559 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review