Compared with Vs Compared to !

[sohrabkalra]

Can somebody elaborate whats the correct usage ?

Heres a question to add (Also is usage of when correct here? )

Today,even when rustlers are convicted, their sentences tend to be light compared to the days of the early west when cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree.

A)Same as above
B)compared with those in the days of the early west in which
C)compared with those in the days of the early west when
D)in comparison with them of the early western days when
E)in a comparison to the days of the early west in which

OA: C

[avik.ch]

There is no difference between "compared to" and "compared with", both are correct and interchangable. Refer SC#17 explanation in OG-11.

This problem do not test the usage of "compared to" vs "compared with", if there is any sentence that test this difference then it must be from some unauthenticated source.

In this problem :

A and E - wrong comparison
D - use of "them", which is a third person personal pronoun is wrong here.

There should be plural demonstrative pronoun "those","these". So we are left with only B and C.

B - "in which" introduces a subordinate clause, here we dont require a subordinate clause as "when cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree. " is not dependent on the main clause - "Today,even when rustlers are convicted, their sentences tend to be light compared with those in the days of the early west"

C - "When cattle rustlers...." tells us more about "days of the early west" and hence correct


I hope this helps !!

[GmatVerbal]

I would eliminate (B) because in which may refer to "west" but in choice(C) when refer to days unambiguously.

Then,again, I may be wrong.

Avik,

Could you clarify "when cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree." is not dependent?
To me both look (B) & (C) both relative clauses and dependent.

"cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree." is independent but
"when cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree." looks dependent to me with incomplete meaning.

There is no difference between "compared to" and "compared with", both are correct and interchangable. Refer SC#17 explanation in OG-11.

This problem do not test the usage of "compared to" vs "compared with", if there is any sentence that test this difference then it must be from some unauthenticated source.

In this problem :

A and E - wrong comparison
D - use of "them", which is a third person personal pronoun is wrong here.

There should be plural demonstrative pronoun "those","these". So we are left with only B and C.

B - "in which" introduces a subordinate clause, here we dont require a subordinate clause as "when cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree. " is not dependent on the main clause - "Today,even when rustlers are convicted, their sentences tend to be light compared with those in the days of the early west"

C - "When cattle rustlers...." tells us more about "days of the early west" and hence correct


I hope this helps !!

[avik.ch]

Avik,


"cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree." is independent but
"when cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree." looks dependent to me with incomplete meaning.

Hi GmatVerbal,

Yes, "in which" will refer to west but at the same time it should act as a subordinate clause - dependent on the main clause.

Please note - when "which" is acting as a object of a preposition ( in which, at which) then it will always be a relative pronoun

Jack built the house in which I now live : Here clearly which do refer to house but at the same time "I now live" is dependent on the main clause - "Jack built the house".
I eliminated B because the clause : "cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree" - seems to me as independent clause and not as a subordinate clause depending on the main clause - "Today,even when rustlers are convicted, their sentences tend to be light compared with those in the days of the early west"

To me both look (B) & (C) both relative clauses and dependent.

In C - can "when" act as a relative pronoun ? As far as I know that there are only five relative pronoun- who, whom, whose, which, that. Please correct me if I am wrong.

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/pron ... lative.htm

Based on my knowledge the clause starting with "when............" is telling us more about the time "days of the early west" - its a modifier here.

So I chose C over B.

Please correct me if my understanding of relative pronoun is wrong anywhere.

[GmatVerbal]

Avik,

Thanks for clarification. There is no contension that "when","where" and "why" are relative adverbs. Some people consider them(mistaken them?) as relative pronouns because of the structure of the sentence and the role they play. "when","where" and "why" are adverbs as they define "time" , place and manner but they start relative clauses to fill in adveriabl gaps that relative pronouns can't do.

Here is the quote from the link:
https://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adverbs.htm

"Adjectival clauses are sometimes introduced by what are called the relative adverbs: where, when, and why. Although the entire clause is adjectival and will modify a noun, the relative word itself fulfills an adverbial function (modifying a verb within its own clause)."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependent_clause

But the way I look at

1. cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree. --> is Independent clause;

2. when cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree --> relative & dependent clause --

3. In which cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree -> relative & dependent clause ..

2 & 3 can't stand on there own.. because the meaning is incomplete. But then, names doesn't really matter. I was not quite sure the elimination of (B) based on the structure of the sentence as they both look similar to me.

Avik,


"cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree." is independent but
"when cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree." looks dependent to me with incomplete meaning.

Hi GmatVerbal,

Yes, "in which" will refer to west but at the same time it should act as a subordinate clause - dependent on the main clause.

Please note - when "which" is acting as a object of a preposition ( in which, at which) then it will always be a relative pronoun

Jack built the house in which I now live : Here clearly which do refer to house but at the same time "I now live" is dependent on the main clause - "Jack built the house".
I eliminated B because the clause : "cattle rustlers were hanged from their nearest tree" - seems to me as independent clause and not as a subordinate clause depending on the main clause - "Today,even when rustlers are convicted, their sentences tend to be light compared with those in the days of the early west"

To me both look (B) & (C) both relative clauses and dependent.

In C - can "when" act as a relative pronoun ? As far as I know that there are only five relative pronoun- who, whom, whose, which, that. Please correct me if I am wrong.

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/pron ... lative.htm

Based on my knowledge the clause starting with "when............" is telling us more about the time "days of the early west" - its a modifier here.

So I chose C over B.

Please correct me if my understanding of relative pronoun is wrong anywhere.

[sohrabkalra]

i agree with Gmatverbal that when choosing between B & C

a)"When" is preferable to "in which" because it clearly refers to days whereas in which can describe both days and west.
b)Both "In which" and "when" introduce Dependent Clauses . Here the clause would be "in which cattle rustlers were hanged ...." and "when rustlers were hanged...." NOT "cattle rustlers were hanged.... " . The joining word is part of the clause . So eliminating B on the basis of structure is wrong !

Now coming back to my original question
What i meant to ask was , do you think both of the below statements are correct ?

A) compared to X, y has more money
B)Compared with x, y has more money

or

A) He compared the victims fingerprints with those in database
B) He compared the victims fingerprints to those in database.

I believe there is a difference, whats your opinion ?

[GmatVerbal]

From what I researched, GMAT doesn't differentiate between "compared to" and "compared with" (or atleast OG doesn't have any questions that test the difference between them).

But some people think there is a minor variation in how they are used-
compared to - for comparing dissimilar things; compared with - for similar things;
link- https://gmat-grammar.blocked/2006/0 ... -with.html

But as for GMAT I wouldn't bother to differentiate in elimiating answer choices. Normally,in GMAT they introduce other errors to elimate unambiguously.

Coming to your examples -

A)compared to X, y has more money
B)Compared with x, y has more money
--- both are correct. ( GMAC doesn't differentiate)
--- ( as per other school of thought - it is a comparision between two people, so compared with is 'more correct')

A) He compared the victims fingerprints with those in database
B) He compared the victims fingerprints to those in database.
-- Both are correct ( GMAC doesn't differentiate)
-- ( as per other school of thought - it is a comparision between finger prints, so compared with is 'more correct')

point to note:
The questions I have seen so far compared similar things and also interestingly correct answer has always been 'compared with' but could eliminate other choices based on other errors without relying on the difference in the idioms.


Here is one more question:

Compared to those who do not, running three days a week saves an average of 14.1 percent on health-care costs each year in the United States.
A. Compared to those who do not, running three days a week saves
B. Compared with nonrunners, people who run three days a week save
C. Compared to not running, those running for three days a week save
D. When compared with those who do not, people running three days a week save
E. When compared to nonrunners, running three days a week saves

-- Answer is (B) -- because its the only thing comparing to runners and non-runners; But incidentally -used 'compared with'

[sohrabkalra]

Thanks ! Thats what i also found out after digging a number of posts !

Co-incidentally , got the question below while giving a simulated test ! Although i doubt GMAT would use that as the only difference to frame a question but still since it is on the same topic, posting it here .

Compared with the 1906 earthquake, the 1989 San Francisco earthquake was smaller in magnitude but did more structural damage.

a)Compared with
b)In comparison with
c)In comparing
d)As compared to
e)Comparing

So in a nutshell, Dont bother about comapared to vs compared with ( But prefer them over in comparison to, when compared with etc) , But if thrown a question like above , go with "compared with " when you are putting two things side by side to examine similarity or difference and with "compared to" when you intend to say that "they are similar" ???

[GmatVerbal]

I will use the examples used in the link to explain:
https://gmat-grammar.blocked/2006/0 ... -with.html

Compare to - is used to liken two things or to put them in the same category. You should use "compare to" when you intend to simply assert that two things are alike.Use "compared to" to illustrate that two things are similar
---> i.e. to say that two unlike things are similar;

Compare with - is used to place two things side by side for the purpose of examining their similarities or differences. Use "compared with" to illustrate the differences a comparison draws
---> to compare two items , things etc.. how they are same or how they differ;
--> finger prints to pringer prints --> why do you compare? to see how close they match ;
--> comparing how much money X has and Y has; i.e. amount of money in both cases;

1). The economy can be compared to a stallion charging at the gate.
---> say: Here one (country) economy is not compared to/with (another) economy but being compared to totally different thing --> "a charging stallion"

2). I compare getting comments from students in class to pulling teeth.
here -> comments are compared to pulling teeth , even though same type; the purpose is to say this is similar to that;
3). She compared her work for women's rights to Susan B. Anthony's campaign for women's suffrage.
here ->

Compare with - is used to place two things side by side for the purpose of examining their similarities or differences. Use "compared with" to illustrate the differences a comparison draws

e.g -

1). The American economy can be compared with the European economy to note how military history impacts future economics. --> comparing two economies same type for the purpose of their effects;
2). It would be interesting to compare Purdue with Ohio State.
--> again two universities;
3). Ann has a 3.5 GPA, compared with Jim's 2.9.
---> GPA's;