Sentence Correction

Like humans and other warm-blooded animals, researchers report that the lotus has the remarkable ability of keeping its temperature in a narrow range.

(A) Like humans and other warm-blooded animals, researchers report that the lotus has the remarkable ability of keeping its temperature in a narrow range.

(B) Researchers report that within a narrow range, the lotus has the remarkable ability to keep its temperature like humans and other warm-blooded animals do.

(C) Researchers report that the lotus has the remarkable ability of keeping its temperature to a narrow range, as humans and other warm-blooded animals can.

(D) Researchers report that the lotus has the remarkable ability to keep its temperature within a narrow range, as do humans and other warm-blooded animals.

E) As humans and other warm-blooded animals can, researchers report that the lotus has the remarkable ability of keeping its temperature in a narrow range.

my doubt: i want to ask something regarding option B. had option B been : Researchers report that within a narrow range, the lotus has the remarkable ability to keep its temperature like humans and other warm-blooded animals --->in this case "like" would act adverbial in nature and NOT adjectival and HENCE will modify the verb "has the remarkable ability" . i have a feeling that this modification will make at least the comparison part in modified B oki
to elaborate further this modified B would become something like : yesterday I danced like George cloony !!---->here "like" is modifying the verb "danced"

i will appreciate if i can get some insight on this
Thanks

aditya8062 wrote: my doubt: i want to ask something regarding option B. had option B been : Researchers report that within a narrow range, the lotus has the remarkable ability to keep its temperature like humans and other warm-blooded animals --->in this case "like" would act adverbial in nature and NOT adjectival and HENCE will modify the verb "has the remarkable ability" . i have a feeling that this modification will make at least the comparison part in modified B oki
to elaborate further this modified B would become something like : yesterday I danced like George cloony !!---->here "like" is modifying the verb "danced"

i will appreciate if i can get some insight on this
Thanks

ACTION WORD + like:
In this construction, like generally refers to the preceding action word and means IN THE MANNER OF.

Yesterday I DANCED LIKE George Clooney.
Conveyed meaning:
Yesterday I DANCED IN THE MANNER OF George Clooney.

SC113 in the OG10:
with arms and legs HANGING LIKE socks on a clothesline.
Conveyed meaning:
with arms and legs HANGING IN THE MANNER OF socks on a clothesline.

NOUN + like:
In this construction, like generally refers to the preceding noun and means SIMILAR TO.

Your proposed revision of B:
The lotus has the remarkable ability to keep ITS TEMPERATURE LIKE HUMANS.
Here, like seems to refer to its temperature (the preceding noun), implying that ITS TEMPERATURE is SIMILAR TO HUMANS.
Not the intended meaning.
Thus, your proposed revision of B is not viable.

GMATGuruNY wrote: Yesterday I DANCED LIKE George Clooney.
Conveyed meaning:
Yesterday I DANCED IN THE MANNER OF George Clooney.

Hello Mitch, from what I understand, you suggest that the above sentence is correct (Yesterday I danced like George Clooney). Can you please confirm.

Also, will the following also be correct: Yesterday I danced as George Clooney does (OR Yesterday I danced as George Clooney dances)?

If yes, then does it mean that both "as" and "like" can be used here (of course after "as" we have a "verb").

Kindly clarify.

iongmat wrote: Hello Mitch, from what I understand, you suggest that the above sentence is correct (Yesterday I danced like George Clooney). Can you please confirm.

John sings like a rock star.
The construction here is VERB + like.
To my knowledge, no OA from GMAC has ever employed this construction.
That said, SC113 in the OG10 includes the following:
arms and legs HANGING LIKE socks on a clothesline.
The construction here -- VERBing MODIFIER + like -- suggests that VERB + like might be acceptable on the GMAT.

If yes, then does it mean that both "as" and "like" can be used here (of course after "as" we have a "verb").

There is a slight distinction between the two comparisons.

John sings like a rock star.
Here, we are not comparing two actions (how John SINGS, how a rock star SINGS).
Rather, we are comparing two nouns (JOHN and A ROCK STAR).
Conveyed meaning:
When he sings, JOHN is similar to A ROCK STAR.

John sings as a rock star does.
Here, we are not comparing two nouns (JOHN and A ROCK STAR).
Rather, we are comparing two actions (how John SINGS, how a rock star SINGS).
Conveyed meaning:
John SINGS the same way a rock star SINGS.

GMATGuruNY wrote: John sings like a rock star.
The construction here is VERB + like.
To my knowledge, no OA from GMAC has ever employed this construction.

Hello Mitch, I came across the following that seems to follow verb + like construct:

Proponents of artificial intelligence say they will be able to make computers that can understand English and other human languages, recognize objects, and reason like an expert-computers that will be used for such purposes as diagnosing equipment breakdowns or deciding whether to authorize a loan.

Above is the correct sentence; some options use "as". What is most surprising is the OE: Either the clause "as an expert does" or the prepositional phrase "like an expert" is correct and idiomatic in this sentence!

So, basically this seems to suggest that both "like" and "as" can be correct in at least some situations.

Hello Mitch, I came across the following that seems to follow verb + like construct:

Proponents of artificial intelligence say they will be able to make computers that can reason like an expert.

Nice find.
The OA above confirms that VERB + like is a viable construction on the GMAT.

Hello Mitch, what I wanted to ask you was your views on OE:

Either the clause "as an expert does" or the prepositional phrase "like an expert" is correct and idiomatic in this sentence!

OE seems to suggest that both "like" and "as" can be correct in at least some situations. So, while we study a lot on when usage the of "as" is correct and when the usage of "like" is correct, looks like there are scenarios when "either" of them can be correct! Makes life even tougher!

Since OEs many a times don't reveal a lot of stuff, thought I will ask your opinion, since in your earlier post, you mentioned that there is a "slight difference" between usage of "as" and "like". Wondering if we can analyze this sentence in light of this difference.

iongmat wrote:Hello Mitch, what I wanted to ask you was your views on OE:

Either the clause "as an expert does" or the prepositional phrase "like an expert" is correct and idiomatic in this sentence!

Since OEs many a times don't reveal a lot of stuff, thought I will ask your opinion, since in your earlier post, you mentioned that there is a "slight difference" between usage of "as" and "like". Wondering if we can analyze this sentence in light of this difference.

A computer that can reason like an expert.
Conveyed meaning:
When the computer reasons, it is SIMILAR to an expert (dependable, fast, etc.).

A computer that can reason as an expert does.
Conveyed meaning:
The computer reasons the SAME WAY as an expert does (analyzing data, making logical connections, etc.).

Both meanings are sensical.

OE seems to suggest that both "like" and "as" can be correct in at least some situations. So, while we study a lot on when usage the of "as" is correct and when the usage of "like" is correct, looks like there are scenarios when "either" of them can be correct! Makes life even tougher!

A split is a DIFFERENCE among the answer choices.
Not all splits matter.
Some are RED HERRINGS, designed to distract us from the REAL ERRORS in the answer choices.
SC72 in the OG13:
A and B: an age in which
C, D, and E: an age when
Both versions are correct.
Thus, we must ignore this split and look for other reasons to eliminate answer choices.

Good Day Guru
i have a query regarding the following official SC :

More than thirty years ago Dr. Barbara McClintock, the Nobel Prize winner, reported that genes can "jump",as pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another.

(A) as pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another
(B) like pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another
(C) as pearls do that move mysteriously from one necklace to others
(D) like pearls do that move mysteriously from one necklace to others
(E) as do pearls that move mysteriously from one necklace to some other one

my concern: in this question, the OA B is of the form "comma+LIKE" . i want to know is this construction of " comma + LIKE" adjectival? if yes then it means that it would be similar to (MODIFIED B): like pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another, genes can "jump"
i have always seen the official SC in the form of MODIFIED B . here the OA seems to suggest that we can use "ADJECTIVAL" form of "like" even at the end of the sentence. is such a usage legitimate?
in other words, will the following sentence be legit: i want to teach students, LIKE ALBERT

aditya8062 wrote:my concern: in this question, the OA B is of the form "comma+LIKE" . i want to know is this construction of " comma + LIKE" adjectival?

Generally, COMMA + like refers to the preceding SUBJECT.
Genes genes can "jump", like pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another.
Here, like pearls serves as an adjective modifying genes.
Conveyed meaning:
When they jump, GENES are similar to PEARLS.

When an adjective follows a verb, the implication is that the adjective expresses a state-of-being that occurs AS A RESULT of the action expressed by the verb.
This type of adjective is known as a RESULTATIVE ADJECTIVE.
The room was painted white.
Here, white serves as an adjective describing the room.
Why does the adjective follow the verb?
Because the room becomes white as a result of the action expressed by the verb:
When the room WAS PAINTED, it became WHITE.

The same reasoning applies to the sentence about genes that can JUMP.
The like-modifier follows the verb because the genes become similar to pearls AS A RESULT of the action expressed by the verb:
Only when the genes JUMP do they become SIMILAR TO PEARLS.

Generally, COMMA + like refers to the preceding SUBJECT.

Good Day Guru
i have one question on the above quote
if i have sentence 1 : i want to teach students, LIKE ALBERT.
DOES sentence 1 means : like ALBERT, I want to teach students
i am asking this because your above quote can be interpreted in a way such that in a sentence 1 , "like ALBERT" seems to modify "STUDENTS"

aditya8062 wrote:

Generally, COMMA + like refers to the preceding SUBJECT.

Good Day Guru
i have one question on the above quote
if i have sentence 1 : i want to teach students, LIKE ALBERT.
DOES sentence 1 means : like ALBERT, I want to teach students
i am asking this because your above quote can be interpreted in a way such that in a sentence 1 , "like ALBERT" seems to modify "STUDENTS"

An introductory like-modifier and a COMMA + like modifier both refer to the SUBJECT of the modified clause.
Like Albert, Bob swims fast.
Bob swims fast, like Albert.
Each of these sentences conveys that BOB (subject) is similar to Albert.

Good day Guru
i have one query regarding this: Generally, COMMA + like refers to the preceding SUBJECT.

NOW by this logic in a sentence: Dr. Barbara McClintock, the Nobel Prize winner, reported that genes can "jump", like pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another---->"COMMA+LIKE pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another" will REFER to "Dr. Barbara McClintock" as it is the subject of PREVIOUS CLAUSE

aditya8062 wrote:Good day Guru
i have one query regarding this: Generally, COMMA + like refers to the preceding SUBJECT.

NOW by this logic in a sentence: Dr. Barbara McClintock, the Nobel Prize winner, reported that genes can "jump", like pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another---->"COMMA+LIKE pearls moving mysteriously from one necklace to another" will REFER to "Dr. Barbara McClintock" as it is the subject of PREVIOUS CLAUSE

Generally, COMMA + like serves to refer to the NEAREST preceding subject.
In the OA, the nearest preceding subject is genes (the subject of can jump).