Hello Everyone!
Let's tackle this question, one problem at a time, and narrow it down to the right answer quickly! To begin, let's take a quick scan over the options and highlight any major differences in orange:
Regulators are likely to end what are, in effect, long-standing exemptions permitting pilots of small turboprop aircraft at small carriers to fly as much as 20 percent more hours per month than pilots at larger airlines fly, with the consequence that some carriers could be forced to hire additional pilots.
A. as much as 20 percent more hours per month than pilots at larger airlines fly, with the consequence that
B. as many as 20 percent more hours per month as pilots at larger airlines, and
C. more hours per month, as much as 20 percent, than pilots at larger airlines; consequently
D. as much as 20 percent more hours per month as larger airlines' pilots, so
E. as many as 20 percent more hours per month than pilots at larger airlines do, and consequently
After a quick scan over the options, there are a few things we can focus on to narrow down our choices:
1. as much as vs. as many as (Idioms)
2. than vs. as (Comparisons/Idioms)
3. how each option ends (Meaning/Punctuation/Conjunctions)
Let's start with #1 on our list: as much as vs. as many as. This is a common grammar issue people often get mixed up, so here is a quick lesson on when to use "as much as" versus "as many as":
as much as = non-countable nouns & percentages
That pair of shoes costs as much as my last month's rent!
The failure rate for this class can be as much as 25 percent.
as many as = countable nouns
There will be as many as 250 people at our graduation party.
My coworkers work as many as 15 percent more hours than I do each week.
So let's take a closer look at our options and eliminate the ones that don't use the correct idiom:
A. as much as 20 percent more hours per month than pilots at larger airlines fly, with the consequence that
B. as many as 20 percent more hours per month as pilots at larger airlines, and
C. more hours per month, as much as 20 percent, than pilots at larger airlines; consequently
D. as much as 20 percent more hours per month as larger airlines' pilots, so
E. as many as 20 percent more hours per month than pilots at larger airlines do, and consequently
We can eliminate options A, C, & D because they don't use the correct "as many as" to refer to "hours," which are countable.
Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let's take a closer look at each one to find any other problems. Remember, we can look at "than/as" and how each option ends to determine if they create a clear and concise statement!
B. as many as 20 percent more hours per month as pilots at larger airlines, and
This is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, when comparing two items, we must use "X is more than Y," and not "X is more as Y." Second, the comparisons aren't parallel. This sentence compares the hours pilots at smaller carriers fly to pilots at larger airlines. Comparing hours flown to pilots isn't parallel - we must compare hours to hours!
E. as many as 20 percent more hours per month than pilots at larger airlines do, and consequently
This is CORRECT! It uses the correct idioms "as many as" and "X is more than Y." It also compares the hours that pilots at smaller carriers fly to the hours pilots at larger airlines fly, which is parallel.
There you have it - option E is the correct choice! If you can become familiar with common idioms and comparison rules, these types of questions are much easier to tackle on the GMAT exam when you spot them!
Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
