Originally published in 1950, Some Tame Gazelle was Barbara Pym’s firs

Dear gmatexam439,

I'm happy to respond.

The short answer to your question is no. This is very subtle and hard to explain.

There are some verbs in the English language that are "doing verbs." All the verbs that have a direct object are "doing verbs," as are many intransitive verbs, such as "to walk" or "to strive." The verb "to read," in its common and ordinary definition, is a verb that takes a direct object and is a "doing verb"--a person reads a book. That's an action, and if we were comparing that to some other reader, we would be comparing actions.

This sentence does NOT use the verb "to read" in its ordinary sense. Instead, it uses a very sophisticated secondary meaning of the word. The idiom is
the book reads [adjective]
Here, we are not describing an action: instead, this is a "being verb," a verb that speaks to the objects state of being. "Being verbs" at least sometimes are followed by adjectives, that describe how the object is. For example, consider this sentence.
The book was intended to be serious, but it reads funny.
Here, we are describing the book itself, not an action. Rather than a single-word adjective, we could have an adjectival phrase or clause, that is to say, a noun-modifying phrase or clause.

Well, the phrase "like [noun]" is a noun-modifying phrase, and this is precisely why we typically use this phrase to compare nouns. Thus, we can follow "read" in this sense with "like"--this is a very typical construction in sophisticated writing.
This short story reads like a novel.
That sentence is 100% correct. Again, absolutely no "action" is taking place in this sentence: the entire sentence is describing the "being" of the novel.

Much in the same way, here's the OA:
Originally published in 1950, Some Tame Gazelle was Barbara Pym’s first novel, but it does not read like an apprentice work.
This is an astonishingly elegant and sophisticated sentence, and what's brilliant about it is that some less sophisticated readers, especially non-native speakers following simple rules, will be completely puzzled by it. This is exactly the sort of sentence that the GMAT loves.

Does all this make sense?
Mike
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This is a very common and acceptable use of the word "like." It's not that different from "That looks like a crow" or "She sings like a professional." Check out this official question for an example of "as X does" or "like X" can be used interchangeably. That particular distinction creates a false split--all 5 choices in the problem start out just fine. proponents-of-artificial-intelligence-say-they-will-be-able-81789.html

In this case, however, the construction in C is actually incorrect. In this context, the word "read" basically means "appear to the reader" or "is able to be read." For instance, we might say that a story "reads like a cross between a romance novel and an investing manual" or "the manuscript reads well." For this reason, saying "seem to read" is redundant. It either reads a particular way or it doesn't. However, if we take out "seem," we are now saying that the book absolutely does not read as an apprentice book would. This means that it is NOT an apprentice work. The author's point seems to be that Pym was indeed a new novelist, but that her work didn't read that way. C doesn't convey that meaning correctly.
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Hi GMATNinja mikemcgarry,

Isn't the original sentence trying to compare action?
-- XYZ doesn't read as ABC does. --> Shouldn't this be the correct choice?

By saying that "XYZ doesn't read like ABC" we are comparing the nouns XYZ and ABC. Isn't this wrong?

Regards.

Dear mikemcgarry,

Thank you for the explanation, but could you give some pointers about how can we infer whether a sentence is comparing action or noun?

There can be 2 grammatically correct choices such as "X plays as Y does" and "X plays like Y". How can we pick the correct choice between the given 2. Is there any rule for this? If not, could you please point out a good source that will help me in improving my understanding of the topic.

Regards

Dear gmatexam439,

I'm happy to respond.

You are correct that there often are two 100% grammatically correct ways to make a given comparison. You asked, "how can we infer whether a sentence is comparing action or noun?" That's a fantastic question, but your mistake is to assume that the answer to your question is a "rule." Many students, especially mathematically-talented non-native speakers, labor under the misconception that the path to GMAT SC mastery lies in some mythical complete collection of the "rules" of grammar and language. In fact, that is a complete chimera, and the rule-based approach to GMAT SC mastery is doomed to failure.

Let's talk about the brain for a moment. The cerebral cortex, the intellectual "thinking" part of the brain, has two halves, called hemispheres. The left hemisphere, or left-brain, is very logical-based and rule-based; it is linear, organized, and precise. The left-brain is very good at "differentiation," the process of telling the difference between two closely related things. Computers can easily do most right-brain rule based tasks. The left brain thinks in terms of clear, logical, step-by-step thought. The right hemisphere, or right brain, is the world's best pattern-matching machine: it matched verbal patterns, spatial patterns, emotional patterns, etc. The left-brain is very good at "integration," the process of seeing the overarching pattern that binds separate things together. The right hemisphere is involved in facial recognition, voice recognition, etc.--tasks that still are an enormous challenge for computers to master. The right brain is responsible for dreaming; it is used to appreciate poetry and for the capacity of imagination.

Many tasks use both brains. In math, the right-brain is used in something like algebra, which is very rule-based, and also differential calculus; the left-brain is used in the pattern-matching needed in integral calculus, as well as aspects of geometry and topology. In language, the clear rules of grammar, such as SVA, are covered by the right-brain, but the left-brain handles much of rhetorical construction as well as a number of subtle questions of meaning. There are no rules for meaning. Meaning and interpretation are firmly in the province of the right-brain. A mathematically talented left-brain thinking might ask for clear, step-by-step rules, but there aren't any. You have to develop the left-brain skills to get at this side of language.

For more on the hemispheric differences, in mathematical context, see:
How to do GMAT Math Faster

Now, for a left-brain dominant mathematically talented non-native speaker, how does this individual develop right-brain skills, i.e. the intuition about emotional impact and meaning in language? I have two suggestions.

One is to develop a rigorous habit of reading. When you read, you will see and understand examples in context: this kind of learning in context builds intuition slowly, especially those subtle intuitions which never could be reified as a rule. See:
How to Improve Your GMAT Verbal Score

My other suggest is as follows. Search official question. If you find any in which you find it hard to tell whether the comparison is between nouns or verbs, then search for it on GMAT Club, add your question to the thread, and invite me to comment. It's through the discussion of individual concrete questions we can figure out what will help you understand this better.

Does all this make sense?
Mike
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I fell for E, but i now see why A is the correct answer.

"Read", in this context, means "appears" or, more loosely, "seems". It shouldnt be taken in its usual verb sense, but as a verb that shows the state of the subject, Some Tame Gazelle.

Secondly, two comparison idioms are at play here:

X reads like Y
X reads as Y does

"As" is typically used when you intend to compare the action itself, while "like" is used to compare the subjects. I stand to be corrected though.

So, putting it all together...

D is wrong because it actually means

"Some Tame Gazelle does not appear like an apprentice work appears"

Not only does it break the idiom rule usage, it is redundant.

A sounds better as it says

"Some Tame Gazelle does not appear like an apprentice work.

This sounds better and previse

Posted from my mobile device

generis sir VeritasKarishma Mam Kindly explain why Option E is incorrect and how to identify in such type of questions whether we are comparing actions or nouns?

Unfortunately, this is a question of idiomatic usage. This could sound strange, especially if you're not familiar with "reads like" (if we can say "reads like", why can't we say "reads unlike"? ). But the difference is that "reads like" is actually a phrase that is widely used, whereas "reads unlike" is not used at all. Option E checks our ability to recognize that this is non-standard usage. Nothing more.

As for like, this question does not use like the way we normally see like used in comparison questions (like X, Y). You'll have to remember this as a separate concept. That is, you'll have to remember that read can be used this way. Like is not all that important here. Even "the book reads well" is acceptable.
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Hi, Can you please tell me why D is wrong. I am not able to understand how 'does' at the end can be incorrect.

Thanks in advance!

Hi AkashNGU,

It's normally not a good idea on the GMAT to put a clause (subject-verb combination) after like. As far as possible, try to stick to using just a noun phrase as the object of like. This is pretty much an absolute rule for really old GMAT questions like this one. As for questions that are currently in the test pools, it's hard to say. I'd stick to the "as far as possible" approach here.
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Below example from GMATNinja will clear all doubts in this question.
1. Like a moldy piece of fruit, Donald Trump has fine orange hair. → correct, since the noun “a moldy piece of fruit” is being compared with another noun, “Donald Trump”, and “like” compares two nouns

2. Like a moldy piece of fruit does, Donald Trump has fine orange hair. → wrong, since the sentence is now structured as “like (noun verb), (noun verb)”, so we’re comparing two clauses (i.e., two nouns with two verbs) – and “like” can only compare two nouns, not two clauses

3. As a moldy piece of fruit does, Donald Trump has fine orange hair. → correct, since we can use “as” to compare two clauses (two nouns with two verbs)… even if it sounds kinda goofy

Hope it helps

Dear mikemcgarry, GMATNinja, dear EGmat, dear AjiteshArun, dear community,

this question confuses me, while I got it correct I spend to much time and relied mainly on my ear. I have a few questions concerning you explanations and would be delighted if you or anyone else could answer them.

1. When you speak about "being verb" do you mean linking verbs? From your desciption it seems like you are speaking of linking verbs but "being verb" sound more like gerunds or verb-ing words.

2. I am confused by the usage of like. I learned that we use it to compare two nouns but "it does not read" at first seems like a clause, however you explained that "does not read" function as an adjective and therefore we are still comparing two nouns, meaning the usage of like is correct. HOWEVER aren't linking verbs/"being verbs" still verbs? For example I could say "A building is a man-made structure". In this sentence "is" is a linking verb, but it still is a complete sentence and each complete sentence needs a subject and verb, therefore "is" is a verb. For the same reason I would also say that "read" is still a verb and as a result we still have a clause in combination with like, which only can compare nouns.
My question is why do linking verbs count as adjectives when we want to use like (to compare two nouns) but count as verbs for the structure of the sentence? This seems inconsistent and illogical.

3. You advise to read a lot to become familiar with idoms and different uses of words. While I am reading a lot to improve English is there a more practical way to distinguish between linking verbs and normal verbs?

Thank you!!!

Hi GMATE1,

It may be better if we look at reads like as one unit. That is, X reads like Y (meaning ~X is similar to Y in some way). I think what's happening here is that you are looking at reads and like and trying to apply what you know about those two words to reads like. As I mentioned in this post, this phrase may seem strange, but the only way around that problem is to remember this as a separate concept.
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I can sleep at night with the idiom 'reads like', but after looking at the responses I don't see why E is incorrect. It's shorter and more concise and conveys the same idea, no?

Or is there a subtle but important meaning difference? i.e. E suggests that the book does the act of reading? My guess is this is the case.
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I have alike doubts. This question was raised by "vasuca10" and explained by AjiteshArun, who alluded to unidiomatic usage of "reads unlike".

Plausibly, GMATNinja or MartyTargetTestPrep can provide other explanation, but these guys are almost always busy

BLTN : I got this one correct:) I had confusion before about this concept.

Maybe this post help:https://gmatclub.com/forum/more-than-30-years-ago-dr-barbara-mcclintock-the-nobel-prize-winner-79611-20.html#p2751436

Here's the version created via the use of (E).

Originally published in 1950, Some Tame Gazelle was Barbara Pym’s first novel, but it reads unlike an apprentice work.

As AjiteshArun has indicated "reads like" is a commonly used idiomatically correct structure.

On the other hand "reads unlike" is not commonly used.

As a result, when we see "reads unlike," we don't have a default meaning to go with. We have to decide what it means, and we run into issues.

One issue is that, since "reads unlike" is not a commonly used or idiomatic expression, "it reads unlike an apprentice work" seems to convey that the novel Some Tame Gazelle literally reads, as if a novel can read.

The issue is compounded by the fact that "unlike" appears after "reads," making the meaning conveyed possibly even more comical.

Normally, when we see verb + "unlike," there is a comma between the two, as there is in the following sentences.

Neha surfs, unlike Monique.

That sentence conveys that Neha and Monique differ, in that Neha surfs, unlike Monique, who does not.

John reads, unlike Charles.

That sentence conveys that John and Charles differ, in that John reads, unlike Charles, who does not.

Admittedly, in the version created via the use of (E), there is no comma between "reads" and "unlike." All the same, when we seek to determine what "it reads unlike an apprentice work" conveys, we are left wondering whether the sentence is meant to convey the nonsensical meaning that the Some Tame Gazelle reads, unlike an apprentice work, which does not read.
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GMATNinja and Experts,
(C) does not seem to read as an apprentice work would

From the meaning standpoint I believe intended meaning is to focus on modifying noun and that make option C incorrect.

Can we also target the usage of would to eliminate option C ?
Please correct me if i am wrong, we use would in place of will when uncertainty is involved. Can we please talk from would usage perspective.

(A) does not read like an apprentice work
This has the right meaning and right use of read like

(B) seems not to read as an apprentice work
seems isn't the right usage and muddles the meaning

(C) does not seem to read as an apprentice work would
The addition of would is inappropriate and the sentence is wordy

(D) does not read like an apprentice work does
does appearesns twicw is redudant and inappropriate

(E) reads unlike an apprentice work
reads unlike isn't the right usage

Hence IMO A