878 - can anyone confirm the answer?

[magical cook]

878. Trying to learn some of the basics of programming is the same as to tinker with a car when one is a teenager: some people end up going to engineering school, and others, twenty years later, remember nothing of the experience.
(A) the same as to tinker with a car when one is a teenager
(B) similar to a teenager tinkering with a car
(C) like tinkering with a car as a teenager
(D) the same as a teenager tinkering with a car
(E) like the teenager’s tinkering with a car


Hi,

In 1000 sc the answer says A but I think it should be C - Can anyone confirm the answer?

[aim-wsc]

no problem with original sentence even though it's long.
c is incorrect.

[Cybermusings]

Magical cook....from the viewpoint of parallelism...since the first part of the sentence uses the "to learn" it is imperative that the comparison uses a similar construction....A is the only choice which correctly uses "to tinker"

Hence A

[Nisha1218]

Sentence Correction is the only area that I"m good in

It's definitely A

"to learn" --> "to tinker"

you have to compare apples to apples in this question.

[Cybermusings]

Here it is important to maintain parallelism...Since we already have to learn we have to balance it with to tinker. the only choice at out disposal is A[/u]

[abkhan]

Answer is Def A. parallism is the key

[rs2010]

I am not sure how many of you are still following this thread but answer of this should be 'C'.

We are comparing Trying with learning. Both are used as Gerund and thus use of like is justified.

[gmatinjuly]

I agree with Hemant, shouldn’t answer be C.

We are not saying Trying to learn is same as (trying) to tinker..

I think what we are saying is
Trying to learns is same as Tinkering …

Trying and tinkering should be parallel…….anythoughts..

Experts please comment.

[GG04]

Can someone please clarify if it is A or C?
are we supposed to compare 'to learn' with 'to tinker' ?
OR
'trying to ' with 'tinkering'.

Please explain.

[stop@800]

like is definitely incorrect
so C can not be the answer

[chase4meg]

IMO A

B,C,D and E also change the meaning of the sentence...

[Rashmi1804]

IMO C

Tinker means trying out some thing,anything randomly.
So trying to tinker is redundant i guess. In A, the sentence means,

trying to learn X is THE same as trying to (tinker) try out something(randomly) with a car..

makes sense ????


But C is comparing two phrases using LIKE. Doing so is idiomatically correct.

Please comment if anyone has a different view ????

[anishprabhu]

I disagree that the sentence compares Learning with tinkering. Although gramatically it might seem like it, logically it compares learning programming with tinkering with a car. Hence the use of like is incorrect.

A seems like the answer.

[yeloaw]

I disagree that the sentence compares Learning with tinkering. Although gramatically it might seem like it, logically it compares learning programming with tinkering with a car. Hence the use of like is incorrect.

A seems like the answer.

I agree with you. We are comparing clauses here. So A is the answer.

Like vs As

'Like' is used to compare people or things (nouns)
Ex: Jack and Jull, like Humpty Dumpty, are extremely stupid.

'As' is used to compare clauses. A clause is any phrase that includes a verb
Ex: Just as jogging is a good exercise, swimming is a great way to burn calories.

[kanha81]

878. Trying to learn some of the basics of programming is the same as to tinker with a car when one is a teenager: some people end up going to engineering school, and others, twenty years later, remember nothing of the experience.
(A) the same as to tinker with a car when one is a teenager
(B) similar to a teenager tinkering with a car
(C) like tinkering with a car as a teenager
(D) the same as a teenager tinkering with a car
(E) like the teenager’s tinkering with a car


Hi,

In 1000 sc the answer says A but I think it should be C - Can anyone confirm the answer?

The answer is 100% correct. I remember the difference between "like" and "same as" or "just as" is that "like" is used to compare things, nouns, etc, whereas "just as" or "same as" is used to compare phrases, clauses, etc. This will help understand the context of the question better.

Good luck.