SC: based on / on the basis of

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stop@800: Legendary Member; Posts: 871; Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:48 am; Thanked: 48 times

by stop@800 » Mon Sep 22, 2008 10:54 am

Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles such as the Galapagos tortoise and examinations of fossils of juvenile dinosaurs, scientists estimate that the largest dinosaurs probably lived to be between 100 and 200 years old.
A Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles such as
B On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles such as
C Based on the growth rates of large modern reptiles like
D On the basis of growth rates of large modern reptiles, like those of
E Based on such growth rates as those of large modern reptiles like

What is the difference between based on / on the basis of?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Mon Sep 22, 2008 10:54 am

nox104: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 69; Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:18 pm; Thanked: 3 times

by nox104 » Mon Sep 22, 2008 1:48 pm

A/C sounds right. Such as is for examples.. and like is for comparison?!? Or maybe I got that twisted! What is the answer ? Based on is just more concise than on the basis of..

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sethids: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 135; Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2008 3:56 am; Thanked: 7 times

by sethids » Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:01 pm

B should be the answer.

Scientists are not 'based on' the growth rate of reptiles. They have estimated something 'on the basis' of a study.

Between B and D, option D is incorrect because it uses like to give examples.

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nox104: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 69; Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:18 pm; Thanked: 3 times

by nox104 » Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:07 pm

I don't like the 2 prepositions coming so close together in B:
On the basis of growth rates of

So I think it is A.

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sethids: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 135; Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2008 3:56 am; Thanked: 7 times

by sethids » Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:12 pm

nox104 wrote:I don't like the 2 prepositions coming so close together in B:
On the basis of growth rates of

So I think it is A.

Option B is still grammatically correct. A has an incorrect modifier as mentioned in my earlier post.

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k_abhi19: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 19; Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:13 pm; Location: INDIA; GMAT Score:710

by k_abhi19 » Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:21 pm

B is the correct answer. such as should be used to give examples. On the basis of correctly shows that a decision or a conclusion was made (on the basis of....)

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stop@800: Legendary Member; Posts: 871; Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:48 am; Thanked: 48 times

by stop@800 » Mon Sep 22, 2008 11:52 pm

nox104 wrote:A/C sounds right. Such as is for examples.. and like is for comparison?!? Or maybe I got that twisted! What is the answer ? Based on is just more concise than on the basis of..

Scientists estimated based on growth rates of reptiles ..
Scientists estimated on the basis of growth rates of reptiles ..

Both are looking correct to me.

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k_abhi19: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 19; Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:13 pm; Location: INDIA; GMAT Score:710

by k_abhi19 » Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:05 am

stop@800 wrote:
nox104 wrote:A/C sounds right. Such as is for examples.. and like is for comparison?!? Or maybe I got that twisted! What is the answer ? Based on is just more concise than on the basis of..
Scientists estimated based on growth rates of reptiles ..
Scientists estimated on the basis of growth rates of reptiles ..

Both are looking correct to me.

based on should be used when one wants to say "Scientists' estimates was based on growth rates of....."
but scientists estimated on the basis of growth rates of... is correct considering the given context.

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csandeepreddy: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 85; Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:49 pm; Location: NJ, USA; Thanked: 1 times

by csandeepreddy » Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:49 am

I look at it this way:
Since the tense in second part of the sentence is present
"scientists estimate that ..."
I think "On the basis..." seems right than "Based on...", as the later is past tense.

Does this make sense?

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LifetimesofSC: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 79; Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 8:57 pm; Location: O-Town FL; Thanked: 1 times

by LifetimesofSC » Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:51 am

What's OA?

I'm between A or B.

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jeenashiva: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 28; Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2008 12:10 pm; Location: Atlanta, USA; GMAT Score:480

by jeenashiva » Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:28 am

I will go with A.

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stop@800: Legendary Member; Posts: 871; Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:48 am; Thanked: 48 times

by stop@800 » Tue Sep 23, 2008 11:50 am

OA is B.

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