Sentence Correction

A coin would appear much larger to a person walking than that same coin would to a person in a speeding car.

(A) than that same coin would to
(B) than that same coin would
(C) as to
(D) as it would to
(E) than it would to

OA: A

Officials at the United States Mint believe that the Sacagawea dollar coin will be used more as a substitute for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than four quarters, which weigh 5.67 grams each.

A) more as a substitute for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than

B) more as a substitute for four quarters than the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far lighter than

C) as a substitute for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than

D) as a substitute for four quarters more than the dollar bill because its weight of only 8.1 grams is far lighter than it is for

E) as a substitute more for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than it is for



A) more as a substitute for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than

--as mustdoit pointed out, the word "rather" does not belong here.

But even if you did not catch this, the phrase "its weight...is far less than four quarters" does not make sense.
It should be "its weight...is far less than that of four quarters."

Additionally, because of the positioning of the word "more" early in the sentence, this sentence is structurally should be saying "more as a SUBSTITUTE...than as a [Blank]"

So A is wrong.

B) more as a substitute for four quarters than the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far lighter than

Because of the positioning of the word "more" early in the sentence, this sentence is structurally should be saying "more as a SUBSTITUTE...than as a [Blank]"

Since this structure is violated, we know B is wrong. If you want to compare the four quarters and the dollar bill, you'll have to move the position of the word "more."

C) as a substitute for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than

This is what we want! The position of the word "more" is further into the sentence so structurally, we are correctly comparing "four quarters" and the "dollar bill."

(C) says: "...because it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than"
It weighs far less than four quarters. --this is correct.

Think: "I weigh more than him."--this is also correct. You do not need the word "that"---you DO need "that" if you say:

"Its weight is far less than that of four quarters." --Notice the difference between "it weighs" and "its weight"---one uses the word "weighs" as a VERB and the other uses "weight" as a NOUN.

D) as a substitute for four quarters more than the dollar bill because its weight of only 8.1 grams is far lighter than it is for

The phrase should be "the weight...is far LESS than" --this is preferred.

You can say "it weighs lighter than XYZ" --just like you can say "I weigh heavier than him." ---But when you begin with the form "its weight is" then you should finish it off with "LESS THAN" rather than "LIGHTER THAN." Likewise, you wouldn't say "my weight is heavier than his"---you would say "my weight is more than his"

And as previously mentioned, you also need the word "for" before "the dollar bill"

So either way, D is wrong.

E) as a substitute more for four quarters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1 grams, is far less than it is for

Again, you don't want the word "rather" in "rather than" here. E is wrong.

The phrase "is far less than it is for"--is chunky. Other answer choices offer something that is simpler and more concise--like answer choice C.

Hope that helps!