Thai village crafts, as with other cultures, have developed through

Hi,
sudhirmadaan and smartguy595,

What are we comparing -- we are comparing crafts of thai village with crafts of other culture..

what is happening in D..

Thai village crafts, like in other cultures, have developed through the principle ..
Errors--
1) the comparison is not even valid..
like is wrong here, "in other culture" is NOT noun and even if the comparison was correct , AS would be used ..
2) say the comparison is valid, which actually is not..
what does the sentence read-
Thai village crafts, like Thai village crafts in other cultures, have developed through the principle ..

Illogical even if take the sentence is correct grammatically
So D is out both grammatically and meaning wise..

How does E rectify it>

Thai village crafts, like those of other cultures, have developed through the principle ..
what is thai village crafts - crafts of thai village..
so those replaces CRAFTS and is correct
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Hello Everyone!

This is a great example of a comparison sentence! Let's take a closer look at it to determine which option is the correct choice! Before we get started, here is the original question, with any major differences between the options highlighted in orange and blue:

Thai village crafts, as with other cultures, have developed through the principle that form follows function and incorporate readily available materials fashioned using traditional skills

(A) as with
(B) as did those of
(C) as they have in
(D) like in
(E) like those of

After a quick glance over the options, 2 major issues jump out:

1. like vs. as
2. Parallelism --> comparing Thai village crafts to: other cultures vs. other cultures' crafts

Since we're dealing with a comparison, the first place to focus our attention should be on parallelism! We MUST make sure that the two items being compared are similar in number, type, or phrasing.

We know that the first half of the comparison is Thai village crafts. The other half of the comparison should be crafts from other cultures. So let's see which sentences properly compare crafts to crafts:

(A) Thai village crafts, as with other cultures --> NOT PARALLEL (comparing crafts to cultures)
(B) Thai village crafts, as did those of other cultures --> PARALLEL (comparing crafts to crafts)
(C) Thai village crafts, as they have in other cultures --> NOT PARALLEL (comparing crafts to people in other cultures)
(D) Thai village crafts, like in other cultures --> NOT PARALLEL (comparing crafts to cultures)
(E) Thai village crafts, like those of other cultures --> PARALLEL (compares crafts to crafts)

We can eliminate options A, C, and D because they don't create parallel comparisons. Let's now take a closer look at the remaining options to determine which is the best choice:

(B) as did those of

This option is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, using the past tense verb "did" creates a problem with inconsistent verb tense. Since the sentence uses the verb "have developed" to describe Thai village crafts, we must use the same verb tense to describe other cultures' crafts as well. It also doesn't work to use "as" to compare two items here. You can only use "as" when it can be replaced with the phrase "the way" and still make sense.

(E) like those of

This option is CORRECT because it's clear that we're comparing the crafts of Thailand to the crafts of other cultures, and it uses the word "like" to clearly show that it's a comparison!

There you have it - option E is the correct choice!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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The crafts themselves did nothing; they have developed through meaning that they were developed through, a passive voice action. So ‘as did those’ in B is incorrect.
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Consider the comparison being done - Thai village crafts are being compared to other crafts.

This is a noun to noun comparison.

If you write 'did', it would mean comparing a noun to an action(verb). This would be inappropriate.

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Comparison + Idioms

A: This answer choice incorrectly compares "Thai village crafts" to "other cultures"; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements. Further, Option A incorrectly uses "as" to compare the noun phrases "Thai village crafts" and "other cultures"; please remember, “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.

B: This answer choice incorrectly compares the noun phrase "Thai village crafts" to the verb phrase "did those of other cultures"; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements.

C: This answer choice incorrectly compares the noun phrase "Thai village crafts" to the clause "they have in"; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements.

D: This answer choice incorrectly compares the noun phrase "Thai village crafts" to the prepositional phrase "in other cultures"; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements.

E: Correct. This answer choice correctly compares "Thai village crafts" with "those (village crafts) of other cultures". Further, Option E correctly uses "like" to compare the noun phrases "Thai village crafts" with "those of other cultures".

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Like" vs "As" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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My main doubt here is why B is incorrect and E is correct

Here, village crafts of thai are simply being compared with the village crafts of other cultures. No clause-clause comparison is made. And in E like has been used correctly.

Can someone explain why 'D' is incorrect, and what is referrant for those in option 'E'
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Those of in this case is a demonstrative pronoun referring to "Crafts "
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Hi chetan2u,

thanks for the explanation. I missed this point - "like must always be followed by noun/pronoun"
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I wanted to understand the usage of 'as' vs 'like'

Manhattan SC books says like cannot be used if it follows a prepositional phrase/clause. So here wouldn't 'as' be a better usage? What's wrong with 'C' ?

Thai village crafts,like those of other cultures , have developed through the principle that form follows function and incorporate readily available materials fashioned using traditional skills

1. Like is used for stating a comparison ( Thai Village Culture ----> Other Cultures)
2. Like is followed by a Pronoun ( Those ---> Referring to Crafts )

Refer MGMAT SC

Like is used to compare nouns, pronouns, or noun phrases.

Hence (E) is correct..........

Please follow go through this article to find out yourself why AS is not correct in this case -

as-vs-like-correct-and-incorrect-usages-133950.html

In case of any doubt feel free to revert...
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Im sorry to ask an irrelevant question like this, but can anybody explain for me the grammar used in this part of the sentence : " that form follows function and incorporate readily available materials fashioned using traditional skills" . why does the word "follows" got the "s" and also the "fashioned using" part. Thanks a lot

Can someone please explain why option C is incorrect here?

I marked E but was a bit confused between C and E. I thought 'Thai village crafts have developed' could be parallel to 'as they (crafts) have (developed - omitted for ellipsis effect) in'.

GMATNinja
Im sorry but i still have difficulty with comparisons even after watching your videos. kindly help.
Now my first choice is Option D . Also option E uses those of which is a clause following like which is incorrect. Kindly help. thank you

Hello longhaul123,

I will be glad to help you with this one.


Choice D is incorrect because the comparison word like has been followed by a preposition in. This usage is incorrect because when presenting comparison, like must be followed by the noun entity that forms one part of the comparison. It is not followed by any other entity.


Now let's talk about Choice E. Please bear in mind that a clause MUST have a subject and its verb. However, there is no verb in the structure that follows like.

In the phrase those of other cultures, the pronoun those stands for crafts. This phrase clearly presents the logical comparison between Thai village crafts and crafts of other cultures.


Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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Hello somesh86,

I am not sure of you still have this doubt. Nonetheless, here is the explanation.


In Choice C, pronoun they refers to Thai village crafts, a reference that doesn’t make sense since it is nonsensical to say Thai village crafts have developed in other cultures. Hence, Choice C is incorrect.


Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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Hello AmeliaLuu,

I am not sure of you still have this doubt. Nonetheless, here is the explanation.


Following is the structure of this official sentence with the correct answer choice E:

Thai village crafts, like those of other cultures, have developed through the principle
that form follows function
and incorporate readily available materials fashioned using traditional skills.


In the above mentioned sentence, the plural subject Thai village crafts have two verbs - have developed and incorporate.

The subject for the singular verb follows is singular noun form. So the subject and the verb are in the same number.


The phrase fashioned using traditional skills is a verb-ed modifier that presents additional information about the noun readily available materials.

The sentence says that the materials used Thai village crafts are fashioned by using traditional skills.


Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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Official Explanation

Logical predication; Diction; Verb form
e phrase as with other cultures is initially confusing given that no culture has been speci cally mentioned; ai village culture is indirectly referenced by the mention of ai village crafts, so perhaps that is what is meant. But then, looking at the phrase in context, it becomes clear that the sentence is intended to indicate that the crafts of other cultures are similar in certain ways to ai village crafts. us, the sentence should say those of other cultures. Furthermore, the use here of as with is questionable. To do the job it is supposed to do here (to indicate that the crafts of ai villages are like the crafts of other cultures in a particular way), as with should be at the beginning of the sentence: As with the crafts of other cultures, ai village crafts have developed. . . . Alternatively, like could be used here instead of as with.
A e appropriate comparison is between ai village crafts and those (i.e., crafts) of other cultures, not the other cultures themselves. Additionally, like would be more appropriate here than as with.
B e verb form here is incorrect. [D]id is not parallel to have later in the sentence. e phrase as have those of other cultures would be parallel, but it is in the wrong position. To be correct, it would need to occur after the main verb is introduced: ai village crafts have developed, as have those of other cultures, . . .
C e use of the pronoun they is inaccurate; the reader is likely to take its antecedent
to be ai village crafts, not crafts. Furthermore, even if the pronoun here were not problematic, if the construction as they have in other cultures is used, it should occur after the main verb (have developed) is introduced.
D e comparative term like compares two nouns or noun phrases, but in this version of the sentence, like compares a noun (crafts) with a prepositional phrase (in other cultures).
E Correct. [T]hose of other cultures clearly refers to the crafts of other cultures; like is appropriate for making a comparison between two sorts of things (crafts).
The correct answer is E.

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