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although the number of romance novels

by shimbal80 » Fri Dec 03, 2010 2:07 pm
Although the number of romance novels published by harlequin enterprises in 2002 amounts to a sum greater than 50 percent of all the romance titles published that year, the company's sales were still down due to high growth in order genres of woman's fiction.

A) as same
B) amounts to greater than
C) amounted to over
D) amounted to larger than
E) amounted to a sum greater than

Right answer C
Source : quiz bank kaplan

Dear experts,

I can understand that the correct answer should be c or d. but I can not figure out which one is correct.
Also, can you please explain what id difference between larger and greater? between "amounted to larger than" and "amounter to greater than", which one is better and correct?

Thanks in advance
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by beat_gmat_09 » Fri Dec 03, 2010 7:59 pm
I found this question as weird.
Number of romance is the subject here, it should go with greater than...
amounts shouldn't be there as it is uncountable against number- countable.
amounts goes with larger and number goes with greater.
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by zorya » Sat Dec 04, 2010 12:38 am
I would say 'amounted to greater than' sounds better than 'amounted to larger than'. In the sense if we take the opposite of greater, 'amounted to lesser than' would sound better as compared to 'amounted to smaller than', right?
I hope you're getting my point!
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by Tani » Sun Dec 05, 2010 5:37 pm
With numbers "over" makes more sense than "greater" or "larger". The latter two imply size rather than quantity. You wouldn't say "there were larger/greater than 10 books on the shelf". "There were over ten books on the shelf" is proper. This is very idiomatic!
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by shimbal80 » Mon Dec 06, 2010 6:14 am
Tani Wolff - Kaplan wrote:With numbers "over" makes more sense than "greater" or "larger". The latter two imply size rather than quantity. You wouldn't say "there were larger/greater than 10 books on the shelf". "There were over ten books on the shelf" is proper. This is very idiomatic!
Thank you very much, Dear Tani

Can you please explain what differences are between larger and greater?

Thanks in advance
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by Tani » Mon Dec 06, 2010 7:17 am
Larger generally refers to physical size where greater refers to quantity. You will, however, find them used interchangeably.
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by shimbal80 » Mon Dec 06, 2010 7:34 am
Tani Wolff - Kaplan wrote:Larger generally refers to physical size where greater refers to quantity. You will, however, find them used interchangeably.
Thank you very much.
It helps me as well.
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by rishab1988 » Mon Dec 06, 2010 8:56 am
Initially I didn't agree with Tani's explanation.I checked the oxford online dictionary to confirm the usage.I must say she is 100% correct.

great- usage

adjective
1 of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above average:

the article was of great interest
she showed great potential as an actor

[attributive] used to reinforce another adjective of size or extent:

a great big grin

(also greater)[attributive] used in names of animals or plants which are larger than similar kinds, e.g. great tit, greater celandine.
(Great)[attributive] [in place names] denoting the larger or largest part of a place:

Great Malvern
(Greater)[attributive] (of a city) including adjacent urban areas:
Greater Manchester

2 of ability, quality, or eminence considerably above average:

the great Italian conductor
great art has the power to change lives

[attributive] important or most important:
the great day arrived
the great thing is the challenge

None of these definitions qualifies the usage of great in this sentence.For this reason we say 40 is greater than 30 [the size of 40 relative to 30]

over - usage

preposition

1 extending directly upwards from:

I saw flames over Berlin
cook the sauce over a moderate heat

2 at a higher level or layer than:
his flat was over the shop

3 higher or more than (a specified number or quantity):
over 40 degrees C
they've been married for over a year

This is the meaning used in the sentence at hand.

large -usage

adjective
1 of considerable or relatively great size, extent, or capacity:
add a large clove of garlic
the concert attracted large crowds

This meaning shows the degree of size of an item [single].

A large blue whale
A large number of people. [number is modified by large.It means the number was very big eg 1 million]

2 of wide range or scope:

we can afford to take a larger view of the situation


I think that although these definitions may not be of much help in this question,but they might prove to be very useful in any questions that you might encounter in future.
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by Tani » Mon Dec 06, 2010 8:58 am
THank's for the endorsement! :-)
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by lunarpower » Wed Dec 08, 2010 4:27 am
Tani Wolff - Kaplan wrote:With numbers "over" makes more sense than "greater" or "larger". The latter two imply size rather than quantity. You wouldn't say "there were larger/greater than 10 books on the shelf". "There were over ten books on the shelf" is proper. This is very idiomatic!
this is true, although i'd like to make an important clarification:

* you don't say "greater than THING" or "greater than # THINGS", unless the intention of "greater" is to indicate some sort of abstract significance.
similarly, you don't say "larger than THING" or "larger than # THINGS", unless the intention of "larger" is to indicate a differential in physical size.

for instance, if someone said
the amendments in the original bill of rights to the u.s. constitution are greater than the following amendments
... this would NOT be a statement that there are more amendments in the bill of rights than afterward; instead, it would be a statement that the amendments in the bill of rights are more historically significant.
similarly,
no playwrights have ever been greater than the ancient greek comedy writers
... is a statement that the ancient greek comedy writers were the best playwrights ever; it is not a statement that they have never been outnumbered by playwrights from another culture.

* on the other hand, if you are directly comparing the numbers themselves, then it is perfectly fine to use "greater" or "larger" to compare those numbers.
for instance
the number of amendments following the original bill of rights is greater than the number of amendments in that bill
... then this is a correctly written statement comparing the two numbers.
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