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comparing nouns /verbs

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comparing nouns /verbs

by confuse mind » Tue Aug 14, 2012 6:53 am
Is it essential to compare actions in the below sentence?
Is the first sentence in each pair wrong?

Julie was able to climb the tree as fast as her brothers.
Julie was able to climb the tree as fast as her brothers did.

The blue dress looks more flattering on you than the red one.
The blue dress looks more flattering on you than the red one does.
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by Patrick_GMATFix » Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:23 pm
In both pairs, the first sentence is fine.

I understand this confusion because it's one I used to have. "Julie was able to climb the tree as fast as her brothers" The confusion is:
(1) did she climb as fast as her brothers climbed? or
(2) did she climb the tree as fast as she climbed her brothers?

My perspective is that when there is only one reasonable interpretation for the intended meaning, there is nothing wrong with a sentence of this type. It's not reasonable to read this and conclude that the author intends (2) above. Thus there is no ambiguity and no issue.

Repeating the action "as fast as her brothers were" and "the red one does" is fine; it's just not necessary here since the intent is clear.

-Patrick
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