SC_Comparison

[Soumita Ghosh]

In assessing the design for a study on the causes of hepatitis B infection in institutional settings, a reviewer pointed out that to qualify as a valid scientific study, the control group would have to include the same proportion of foreign-born employees as the test group.

A)to include the same proportion of foreign-born employees as the test group
B)to include the same proportion of foreign-born employees as the test group does
C)to include the same proportion of foreign-born employees as the proportion in the test group
D)included the same proportion of foreign-born employees like the test group
E)to include the same proportion of foreign-born employees as were included in the test group

OA B

My question is sentence is given in the past tense so the test group does are not the same tense as the sentence given . I chose this option as there is no other best option. But does is ok with this sentence.?

[ice_rush]

'as' is used to compare actions. we need 'does' to convey the action.

[Tommy Wallach]

Hey Ice-rush,

Be careful, this sentence isn't strictly about the usage of "as". You are allowed to use "as" without a verb:

He's not as tall as his brother.

That is a correct sentence. You do not have to say: "He's not as tall as his brother is."

The real issue in this sentence is that we need a verb in order to allay confusion.

a) the control group would have to include the same proportion of foreign-born employees as the test group.

This could sound like the control needs to include 20% foreign-born employees and 20% test group members. See the problem? Here's another example of confusion:

I love Justin Bieber more than you.

Is it that I love Justin Bieber more than I love you, or is that I love Justin Bieber more than you do? We can't know, so that original sentence is wrong!

Now consider this sentence:

I have more money than Justin Bieber.

There's no confusion there, so that sentence is correct as is.

Hope that helps!

-t