Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that as would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.

Concepts tested here: Comparison + Tenses + Verb Forms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.
• The introduction of present participle ("verb+ing"- “ejecting” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship.
• The simple future tense is used to refer to future actions.
• The simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.

A: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "eventually ejecting...white dwarf"; the use of the present participle ("verb+ing" - "ejecting" in this sentence) incorrectly implies that the sun will eventually eject its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf because it will expand into a red giant; the intended meaning is that the sun will expand into a red giant, and as a separate action eject its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf; please remember, the introduction of the present participle ("verb+ing"- “ejecting” in this case) after comma generally leads to a cause-effect relationship. Further, Option A incorrectly uses "Like" to compare the clauses "any star of similar mass would do" and "it expands into a red giant"; please remember, “like” is used for comparing nouns, and “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses. Additionally, Option A incorrectly uses the simple present tense verb "expands" to refer to future action; please remember, the simple future tense is used to refer to future actions, and the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature.

B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple present tense verbs "expands" and "ejects" to refer to future actions; please remember, the simple future tense is used to refer to future actions, and the simple present tense is used to indicate actions taking place in the current time frame, indicate habitual actions, state universal truths, and convey information that is permanent in nature. Further, Option B redundantly uses the phrase "once the hydrogen...exhausted" alongside "then", leading to awkwardness and redundancy; this usage is redundant, as both terms refer to a point in time in the future. Additionally, Option B uses the passive voice construction "once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted", leading to further awkwardness and needless wordiness.

C: This answer choice incorrectly uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "ejecting" in this sentence) to refer to an action that will take place in the future; please remember, the simple future tense is used to refer to actions that will take place in the future.

D: This answer choice fails to form a complete sentence, as the helping word "would" has no active verb to act upon. Further, Option D uses the passive voice construction "once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E: This answer choice uses the phrase "and eventually eject", conveying the intended meaning - that the sun will expand into a red giant, and as a separate action eject its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf. Moreover, Option E correctly uses the helping word "would" to act upon the active verb "be". Further, Option E correctly uses the simple future tense verbs "will expand" and "will...eject" to refer to actions that will take place in the future. Additionally, Option E correctly uses "As" to compare the clauses "would be the case with any star of similar mass" and it will expand into a red giant...white dwarf". Besides, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Comma + Present Participles for Cause-Effect Relationships" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~3 minutes):



To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



To understand the concept of "Like" vs "As" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Like or As? We have a comparison, so both could be correct.

comparison: Like + noun / As + clause

"Like" wants a noun, not a clause."Like any star if similar mass would do" is wrong. out A
"Like any star of similar mass" like here is correct; but in B what does it ("it will expand") refer to? to the core or to the hydrogen? out B
"As" wants a clause. out C
"as any star of similar mass would", in the next part of the sentence we are looking for the "subject" of this premise. But the subject is " the hydrogen" and this is not logical, moreover the " the hydrogen" "will expand into a red giant", are you sure? out D

IMO E

E

AB: Wrong; Wrong use of "like"; element after comma should be a noun
D: Wrong; incomplete clause after "as" since "would" should have a verb after it
C: Wrong; "it" should refer to "Sun" not to "hydrogen", but it can't , because "Sun" is in a possessive form.

There is another issue in D, which does not seem to have been highlighted so far. It says:

once the hydrogen in the Sun’s core is exhausted

This does not tell us who exhausts the hydrogen in the Sun’s core. The original sentence says: once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its store.

So, this is a big meaning issue with D.

Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its core, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.

A. like+ noun while here like+ clause
verb tense error: has exhausted--> exhausts
llism error--> expands is not parallel with ejecting
using verb-ing modifier here changes the intended meaning.. it seems that sun expansion to the red giant results in ejection of its outer envelope of gasses

B. Like any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, then it expands into a red giant and eventually ejects
passive voice is not necessary and changes the meaning.
once....., then--> then is redundant
verb tense error: expand ad eject should express in future tense

C. As in the case of any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, it will expand into a red giant, and eventually ejecting
passive construction,
pronoun error---> "it" cannot refer to the sun but it refers to the sun's core
llism error as in A


D. As any star of similar mass would, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted it will expand into a red giant and will eventually eject
pronoun error as in C.
passive construction

E. As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject
"as would be the case" is not considered wordy by GMAC, and it is a correct structure
it can clearly refers to the Sun

oh man..took me 1:47 to get to the answer...tricky one!

let's understand the meaning of the sentence:
Once the Sun's hydrogen in its core is exhausted, THE SUN expands into a red giant, and later it will eject its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.
This scenario is true for any other stars that have a similar mass.

Error analysis:
We see that we need a comparison here - sun is compared with any star of similar mass.
Correct comparison:
Like+noun
AS+clause

Like+clause - is incorrect
As+noun - is not comparison, and has a totally different function.

Present perfect "has exhausted" - suspicious
"it" after core - suspicious, can refer to Sun and core
ejecting - hm, comma before, looks like it should modify the preceding clause, makes sense, but let's check other choices.


(A) Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its core, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting

(B) Like any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, then it expands into a red giant and eventually ejects
comparison error - any star of similar mass is compared with once the hydrogen - not correct.
pronoun it - ambiguous, is it referring to hydrogen or core? Sure it doesn't refer to Sun, since Sun's is used as an adjective here that describes the "CORE".

(C) As in the case of any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, it will expand into a red giant, and eventually ejecting
same pronoun error.
comma + and ... hm, strange construction...introduces a new clause, but where is the subject? where is the verb?

(D) As any star of similar mass would, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted it will expand into a red giant and will eventually eject
comparison error as in B
pronoun error as in B and C

(E) As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject
first part of the sentence - for me suspicious, it is not clear what is compared.
pronouns are used correctly, and the sentence tells us the intended meaning.
verbs in the second part of the sentence "will expand" and "eject" are parallel
since other choices are incorrect, this one is the only left

Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its core, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.
Like is followed by nouns. Eliminate A

B. Like any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, then it expands into a red giant and eventually ejects "the sun" should follow "mass"

C. As in the case of any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, it will expand into a red giant, and eventually ejecting "it" referent is unclear, use of the passive is not ideal, "eventually ejecting" is not the correct grammatical construction

D. As any star of similar mass would, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted it will expand into a red giant and will eventually eject
"would" doesn't correspond with "will expand" and "eventually eject," and the passive voice construction makes the actions of the Sun versus the hydrogen in the Sun's core unclear
E. As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject

(A) 'like' cannot be followed by a clause

(B) 'it' cannot refer to 'Sun', because 'Sun' is in possessive case and therefore is a an adjective rather than a noun. Hence, it refers to 'Sun's core', which is not the intended antecedent.

(C) The same issue as in B with 'it'

(D) The same issue as in B with 'it'

(E) Correct!

Hi,

I have a doubt regarding the answer e. if it stands for the sun then should it not be "ejects " ?singular verb for singular noun

(A) Like any star of similar mass would do, once the Sun has exhausted the hydrogen in its core, it expands into a red giant, eventually ejecting

(B) Like any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, then it expands into a red giant and eventually ejects

(C) As in the case of any star of similar mass, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted, it will expand into a red giant, and eventually ejecting

(D) As any star of similar mass would, once the hydrogen in the Sun's core is exhausted it will expand into a red giant and will eventually eject

(E) As would be the case with any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject

E it is

I agree. At first glance, it seemed very suspicious: A. too wordy; B. "any star of similar mass," as stated in (D), sounds more proper if we compare "the sun" and "other stars." My analysis is that "the case" is actually describing the whole process: the star, or the sun, exhausts the hydrogen in its core, and then expand, and eventually eject its outer envelope of gases. So, the writer is saying "the sun's case" and "the star's case" are the same process.

Does anyone have an idea?

I think your reasoning is correct. Or you can go the other way. A and B are wrong since "like" is not used to compare clauses. In C and D wrong comparison - "stars" and "hydrogen". Hence only E is left

We are comparing to clauses so we need to use 'as', so A and B are OUT!


'it' has no referent as Sun's is a possessive noun, and we can use the possessive pronoun 'its' here, but the Sun's core will not expand into a red giant, the sun will. Plus it seems to be comparing a star to hydrogen. So these 2 options are OUT.


Only option left, and the right answer.
Sun is compared to the star. 'its' refers back to 'the sun'

So E is the answer.

Hello akshayk,

Great analysis I must say. It's very thorough and detailed. Keep up the good work.

I would just like to add my two cents to the analysis of Choice A and B.



It is not that since the sentence intends to compare two clauses, usage of like stands incorrect in this sentence. The same comparison can be presented using like as well. But that's later.

Let's first discuss why Choice A is incorrect. Choice A is incorrect because like has been followed by a clause any star of similar mass would do. This usage is incorrect because like, while presenting comparison, cannot be followed by a clause.

Choice B is incorrect because it presents illogical comparison because per this choice, any star has been illogically compared to the hydrogen in the Sun.

The intended comparison can be written using like as follows:

Like any star of similar mass, once the Sun exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it will expand into a red giant and eventually eject its outer envelope of gases to become a white dwarf.

For more details and official examples on the Usage of Like Vs. As, you can review the article named As Vs Like: Correct and Incorrect usages in the following link:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/as-vs-like-correct-and-incorrect-usages-133950.html


Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

This question confused me a little. If I am not wrong, this is comparison. For comparison, isn't 'AS' wrong?
I always thought 'Like' is the right term for comparison.

Can someone please clarify this doubt ?

Hi pra1785 ,

As is also used for comparisons.

The difference between using the two is "Like" should be followed by a noun whereas "as" should be followed by a clause to make comparisons.

Hi pra1785, indeed both as and like are used for comparisons. For example, both the following sentences would be correct:

Peter designed the flapping-wing ornithopter that could fly like birds.

Peter designed the flapping-wing ornithopter that could fly as birds do.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses like Vs As, its application and examples in significant detail. If someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.