In the early twentieth century, an extraordinary painter could influence nearly all advanced artists, but today, for any one artist to influence practitioners of genres as varied as painting, video, and photography is nearly impossible.
(A) as varied as
(B) as varied as are
(C) as varied as those of
(D) that are as varied as
(E) that are as varied as are
As X as construction
This topic has expert replies
GMAT/MBA Expert
- Tommy Wallach
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 451
- Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:58 am
- Location: New York City
- Thanked: 188 times
- Followed by:120 members
- GMAT Score:770
(B) This question revolves around a meaning issue. In this answer choice, it's painting, video, and photography that are varied. But that's the wrong meaning. The variation is simply in the genres themselves; painting, video, and photography are quite varied genres. How do we know this? The idea is that a painter could once influence all advanced artists, because all art was so similar. But now, video and photography are so different from painting, it's unlikely a painter could influence someone working in those media.In the early twentieth century, an extraordinary painter could influence nearly all advanced artists, but today, for any one artist to influence practitioners of genres as varied as painting, video, and photography is nearly impossible.
(A) as varied as
(B) as varied as are
(C) as varied as those of
(D) that are as varied as
(E) that are as varied as are
(C) "Those" could only refer to "genres," which makes no sense: "...practitioners of genres as varied as the genres of painting, video, and photography." At best, this is redundant. At worst, it's crazy wrong, because there aren't genres inside the genres!
(D) + (E) These both carry the meaning that the genres being listed have the variety inside of them (just as (A) did).
Let me know if that makes sense, or if you have follow-up questions.
-t
Tommy Wallach, Company Expert
ManhattanGMAT
If you found this posting mega-helpful, feel free to thank and/or follow me!
ManhattanGMAT
If you found this posting mega-helpful, feel free to thank and/or follow me!
Agree with Tommy. My extra 2 cents on similar questions -
This one is a question on "Comparison". In such questions, first make sure what is being compared.
In this particular question, please ask yourself what is/are varied? If you know genres are varied, you have won the battle.
The correct form has to be genres as varied as X, Y, and Z. Hence answer should be A.
HTH!!!
This one is a question on "Comparison". In such questions, first make sure what is being compared.
In this particular question, please ask yourself what is/are varied? If you know genres are varied, you have won the battle.
The correct form has to be genres as varied as X, Y, and Z. Hence answer should be A.
HTH!!!
Last edited by gmat4fun on Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
GMAT/MBA Expert
- Tommy Wallach
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 451
- Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:58 am
- Location: New York City
- Thanked: 188 times
- Followed by:120 members
- GMAT Score:770
Hey Prat,
(D) actually carries the same meaning as (E). Or, better put, we don't know if it does. It's like this example I've used before:
I love you more than Justin Bieber.
Does that sentence mean "I love you more than Justin Bieber does"? Or "I love you more than I love Justin Bieber"?
As written, there's no way to know, so the sentence is incorrect. Similarly, we don't know what's meant by (D). It could be "genres that are as varied as painting, video, and photography are" or the correct meaning we get in (A).
Make more sense?
-t
P.S. More good news, (D) is so much wordier than (A), that you'd still pick (A) just for efficiency!
(D) actually carries the same meaning as (E). Or, better put, we don't know if it does. It's like this example I've used before:
I love you more than Justin Bieber.
Does that sentence mean "I love you more than Justin Bieber does"? Or "I love you more than I love Justin Bieber"?
As written, there's no way to know, so the sentence is incorrect. Similarly, we don't know what's meant by (D). It could be "genres that are as varied as painting, video, and photography are" or the correct meaning we get in (A).
Make more sense?
-t
P.S. More good news, (D) is so much wordier than (A), that you'd still pick (A) just for efficiency!
Tommy Wallach, Company Expert
ManhattanGMAT
If you found this posting mega-helpful, feel free to thank and/or follow me!
ManhattanGMAT
If you found this posting mega-helpful, feel free to thank and/or follow me!