Studies of performance reports show that working in a multilingual environment has a markedly positive effect on managers whose colleagues speak English as a second language, as compared to those whose native language is English.

A) to those whose native language is English.
B) with those whose native language is English.
C) with those who are native English speakers.
D) to managers whose colleagues do not.
E) with managers whose colleagues are native English speakers.
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I would have said E because it is grammatically correct and it keeps the meaning of the original sentence but D has a parallele structure... What's more important meaning or parallelism ??

E is in fact the correct choice. Meaning is more important; the comparisons in the sentence should logically and contextually compare the same things

Hope that helps,

Vercules
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Dear Fame,
This is in response to your private message.

First of all, in my mind, both (D) & (E) show clear and correct parallelism, and the problem with (D) is the grave logical issue that Vercules pointed out. In my mind, Vercules has already resolved all the issues pertaining to this question, but because you asked, I will elaborate a bit.

Point #1----LOGIC always trumps GRAMMAR ---- there is no sense putting words in what would seem to be a grammatically correct order if what is said is illogical.

Point #2 --- parallelism is NOT purely mechanical --- it doesn't necessarily mean an exact plug-in verbal repeat. Parallelism operates at both the level of the word and at the level of logic. In that sense,
managers whose colleagues speak English as a second language
managers whose colleagues are native English speakers
these two, while having different wording, are precise logical parallels.

Point #3 ---- the word "NOT" can be very tricky.
In a binary category, the word "NOT" produces a precise meaning
... those who can ride a bike, compared to those who can not ....
... those who speak French, compared to those who don't ....
... those have read Moby Dick, compared to those who have not ....
For all three of those, there's a implied yes/no question that more or less exhausts the category of possibilities.

Now, by contrast ....
.... those whose favorite novel is Moby Dick, compared to ????
....those who play cello, compared to ????
Here, the nature of the comparison is a bit less clear ---- do we mean to compare all those whose favorite novel is Moby Dick with the vast majority of humanity who do not have this relationship with this one particular book? or do we mean to compare those whose favorite novel is Moby Dick with those whose favorite is some other work?
Similarly, in the second, are we really comparing all cello-players to all non-cello-players? Or are we comparing those who play the cello to those who play some other orchestral instrument?
The logic of the sentence would tell us a lot about how we had to frame the comparison, but the point is --- as soon as there are more than two possibilities, we can't just stick the word "NOT" in there and consider ourselves done.

In this question, choice (D) has .....
...has a markedly positive effect on managers whose colleagues speak English as a second language, as compared to managers whose colleagues do not.
I must say, this is a brilliantly constructed choice designed to snap all those who think about parallelism too mechanically, ignoring the underlying logic. I really like this question.
Here, category #1 = "managers whose colleagues speak English as a second language"
So the colleagues have this specific relationship with English --- they speak it as a second language.
Who would not be category #1 ----
(a) native speakers of English --- English as a "first" language
(b) folks who speak English as their third, fourth, fifth, etc. language
(c) those who do not speak a word of English
Now, logically, in the context of the sentence, do all those people have any business being lumped together? Of course not! Yes, strictly speaking, the word "NOT", indicated simply not in Category #1, would necessarily include all those people. It includes a much wider swathe of the human race than is intended by the sentence, and it's implications are utterly illogical. Once again, logic trumps grammar. This cannot be correct.

The best answer is (E) --- perfect logic, and perfect parallelism.

Does all this make sense?
Mike
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Mike McGarry
Magoosh Test Prep

Hi Aditya,

From GMAT's point of view the usage of both will be correct. GMAT is not likely to test you based on the difference in usage of "Compared to" Vs "Compared with" because the differences between their usage are not universally excepted. So, GMAT will not test any rule which can be disputed. No official question compares these two idioms. Please do not worry about the differences between "compared to" and "compared with".

For example the question 131 in OG 12 in SC has both "compared to" and "compared with", but the choices are incorrect in other ways.

If you are curious to know the difference here it is, but this info will not be of much use for GMAT.

"Compared to" is used to express that two things are similar.

e.g. People often compare the works of Einstein to the works of Newton. --> means that both the works are similar

"Compared with" is used to express the differences.

e.g.It would have been interesting to compare the intellectual level of Einstein with that of Newton --> meaning is that it will be interesting to know the differences in intellectual level of the scientists.


I hope it clears your doubt,

Vercules
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Hi Souvik,

Totally agree with you. Both the ways are correct, in fact this is the reason why GMAT does not test this difference. There is no universally excepted rule on this issue. I have already written in my post above that discussion on "compared to" and "compared with" will not be of much value for GMAT.

Hope that helps,

Vercules

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