No greater than/ Fewer than

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limestone: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 307; Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:52 pmFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 36 times; GMAT Score:640

by limestone » Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:06 am

After tropical storm Jeanne flooded the Haitian city of Gonaives with waterlines up to three meters high, the majority of the homes in the city were completely destroyed; less than one percent of homes in the area had not any damage inflicted whatsoever.

A. less than one percent of homes in the area had not any
B. no greater than one percent of homes in the area had not any
C. there was one percent or less of homes in the area with no
D. no greater than one percent of homes in the area had no
E. fewer than one percent of homes in the area had no

[spoiler]OA: E
IMO: D. What is the difference between "not greater than" and "fewer than"?[/spoiler]

"There is nothing either good or bad - but thinking makes it so" - Shakespeare.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:06 am

user123321: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 385; Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2011 9:02 pmFollowed by: 6 members; Thanked: 62 times

by user123321 » Tue Dec 20, 2011 6:49 am

limestone wrote:After tropical storm Jeanne flooded the Haitian city of Gonaives with waterlines up to three meters high, the majority of the homes in the city were completely destroyed; less than one percent of homes in the area had not any damage inflicted whatsoever.

A. less than one percent of homes in the area had not any
B. no greater than one percent of homes in the area had not any
C. there was one percent or less of homes in the area with no
D. no greater than one percent of homes in the area had no
E. fewer than one percent of homes in the area had no

[spoiler]OA: E
IMO: D. What is the difference between "not greater than" and "fewer than"?[/spoiler]

IMO E
both seems fine but E is more straightforward and clear in meaning.

user123321

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Want to do it right the first time.

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sk8legend408: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 62; Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:37 amFollowed by: 1 member; Thanked: 3 times

by sk8legend408 » Tue Dec 20, 2011 7:47 am

Actually I have to disagree with user 123321.

The difference is that no greater than one percent changes the meaning of the original sentence. The original sentence states less than one percent.

Think of it mathematically as if you are using inequalities.

D says no greater than which means it can be equal to or less than.

E says fewer than which means it can only be less than and not equal to.

E is consistent with the meaning of the original sentence so E is the answer.

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user123321: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 385; Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2011 9:02 pmFollowed by: 6 members; Thanked: 62 times

by user123321 » Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:23 am

sk8legend408 wrote:Actually I have to disagree with user 123321.

The difference is that no greater than one percent changes the meaning of the original sentence. The original sentence states less than one percent.

Think of it mathematically as if you are using inequalities.

D says no greater than which means it can be equal to or less than.

E says fewer than which means it can only be less than and not equal to.

E is consistent with the meaning of the original sentence so E is the answer.

But I have seen lot of questions which you can tweak the meaning a bit to make the overall answer concise & correct

And also this is a sentence correction and not problem solving question. We need to give importance to grammar,conciseness & preserving the meaning of the original sentence as much as possible.
experts your general advice please.

Thanks
user123321

Just started my preparation

Want to do it right the first time.

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GmatKiss: Legendary Member; Posts: 2789; Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:19 amFollowed by: 43 members; Location: Chennai, India; Thanked: 206 times; GMAT Score:640

by GmatKiss » Tue Dec 20, 2011 12:45 pm

IMO:E

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nitingoel: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 23; Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2011 12:18 pm; Thanked: 3 times

by nitingoel » Tue Dec 20, 2011 1:29 pm

I too think it would be (E) since for most of the choices, the original meaning of the sentence is lost ( It has to be less than 1 percent) except (E).
Also, as per the rule, we cannot alter the meaning of the original sentence (of course, it has be grammatically correct)

A. INCORRECT - since "less than" - To be used with measurable items and not countable ones.
B. INCORRECT - "no greater than one percent" means that 1% or less and this modifies the original meaning of the sentence.
C. INCORRECT - "one percent or less" - Straightaway modifies the original meaning and can be discarded.
D. INCORRECT - "no greater than one percent" means that 1% or less and this modifies the original meaning of the sentence
E. CORRECT

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