Like many self-taught artists, Perle Hessing did not begin to paint

Hey All,

I was asked to take this one on, so I will, even though most of the important issues have already been discussed.

This is a comparison question, mostly regarding the difference between "as" and "like". As many of you have said, "as" is used to compare clauses (basically, clauses have subjects and verbs, with verbs being the important thing to look for here), "like" is used to compare nouns. This means that if you have the word "as", it better have a verb nearby. If you have the word "like", it better not have a verb nearby (and by nearby, I generally mean within the section that's set off by commas).

Like many self-taught artists, Perle Hessing did not begin to paint until she was into middle age.

a) Like
ANSWER: "Like" here is followed by "many self-taught artists". There's no verb here, which means it's not a clause, which means we MUST use like.

b) As have
PROBLEM: The use of "as" is technically correct here, because we've added the verb "have". Unfortunately, it doesn't parallel correctly to anything in the second half of the sentence. Honestly, even if we did have the parallel it would be highly awkward. For example: "As have many other artists, Eskimo artists have used ice in many of their sculptures."

c) Just as with
PROBLEM: This one tries to use "as" even though there's no verb. Nice try, GMAT.

d) Just like
PROBLEM: No reason to add the "just".

e) As did
PROBLEM: This version adds the verb "did", much as answer choice b adds "have". This one does parallel correctly ("Perle Hessig did"), and as I said it would in b, it's created a highly awkward sentence. We're trying to parallel "did" and "did not", which doesn't make any sense.

Hope that helps!

-t