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WE:Education (Education)
Re: The pigments used in modern oil paints are different than
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19 Sep 2017, 06:38
OE :
The purpose of this sentence is to contrast pigments used in modern oil paints with the
pigments used in older paints. The original sentence uses the wordy expression “are different
than,” but the idiomatic expression is “are different from,” and the more concise “differ from”
would be even better. In addition, the statement “…X are different than Y because…” is
misleading due to the use of “because”: it implies that because the pigments used in modern
oil paints are more lightfast and vibrant, they are different (in some unspecified way) from the
pigments used in older paints. However, the intended meaning is that the pigments differ “in
that” one is more lightfast and vibrant. Secondly, "the ones" can be replaced with the more
concise "those." Finally, the antecedent of the plural pronoun “they” is ambiguous: "they"
could refer to the older pigments or to the modern pigments.
USE of “IN THAT”
(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) CORRECT. To make the comparison, the concise and accurate “X differ from Y in that…”
construction is used. The concise “those” is used instead of “the ones.” The pronoun ambiguity
in the original sentence has been eliminated by using “the modern ones” instead of “they.”
(C) This choice uses the wordy expression “are different than,” but the idiomatic expression is
“are different from,” and the more concise “differ from” would be even better. In addition, the
statement “…X are different than Y because…” is misleading due to the use of “because”: it
implies that because the pigments used in modern oil paints are more lightfast and vibrant,
they are different (in some unspecified way) from the pigments used in older paints. However,
the intended meaning is that the pigments differ “in that” one is more lightfast and vibrant.
(D) This choice uses the wordy and awkward “X are different from Y…on account of being Z”
to explain why the pigments are different. In general, the use of “being” on the GMAT is
incorrect, because there is typically a more economical way of phrasing the same thing. Here,
the concise construction “X differ from Y…in that…” would be preferred.
(E) The statement “…X differ from Y because…” is misleading due to the use of “because”: it
implies that because the pigments used in modern oil paints are more lightfast and vibrant,
they differ (in some unspecified way) from the pigments used in older paints. However, the
intended meaning is that the pigments differ “in that” one is more lightfast and vibrant.
Secondly, "the ones" can be replaced with the more concise "those." Finally, the antecedent of
the plural pronoun “they” is ambiguous: "they" could refer to the older pigments or to the
modern pigments.