Linking arrangements among secondary schools and the workplace never

One might get the feeling that C and E mean the same thing. It is not so in that C has a subtle but substantial error of intent. C says that the listing arrangements never evolved in the US just as in the same way the arrangements did not evolve in most other developed countries. In other words, it tends to mean that in other countries also they did not evolve. This is a grave flaw. The original intent is that while in other countries the arrangements evolved smoothly, but in the US, they did not.
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I read all the thread and did some research in MGMAT SC guide of last edition. Is C wrong only for a meaning ambiguity or is there any structural error? I think the latter is true and here are some explanations from MGMAT.

I will jump up as a clown. (= in a clown suit).

There is no comparison here because this sentence just means that I will be dressed in a clown suit. The guide says that “to force the comparison as meaning, use a clause. To make a clause, include a verb”.

I will jump up as clowns do. (= like actual clowns)

As you see, you need a verb for a comparison to work and you cannot just omit it. Additionally, in C if there were a comma before “as in most other developed countries”, then this part would act as an adverbial modifier applying to the whole close “Linking arrangements... never evolved in the United States”. Then C would mean that “Linking arrangement evolved neither in US nor in other developed countries” and look as below:

Linking arrangements... never evolved in the United States, as in most other developed countries.

MGMAT says that as can also appear with a phrase, rather than a full clause when as clause acts as a modifier. Here is an example similar to C with comma:

As in previous case, the judge took an early brake.

However, there is no comma in C and thus “as in most other developed countries” has to be read not as a modifier but as a part of comparison as trying to convey. But for proper comparison we need a verb and E gives us that lacking “they did”, avoiding the mistake made by C. Therefore, C is incorrect not for ambiguity but for wrong structure.

Linking arrangements... never evolved in the United States as they did in most other developed countries. (Correct E)

However, please note that you may see as being used with neither verb nor comma, but in those cases as may be used not as a comparison maker but as a preposition or adverbial modifier, examples:

I think of you as my friend. (= equation, used as a preposition and means that you are my friend)
I think of you as my friend does. (= both I and my friend think of you)

Eyewitness describes the missing passenger as his lawyer. (Passenger appears to be his lawyer)
Eyewitness describes the missing passenger as his lawyer does. (Passenger and his lawyer describe in the same way)

There is a meaning shift when like is used instead of as:

I will jump up as a clown. (= in the clown suit)
I will jump up like a clown. (= in the same way)

Note that in the second sentence we don’t need a comma before like, otherwise the meaning would be “clown jumps and so do I”. To mean in the same way we don’t a comma, example from MGMAT:

My grandpa eats like a child, slurping loudly and helping himself to plenty of ketchup.

One more thing to note: don’t cross out as soon as you see such sentences as “I think of you as my friend” and “I will jump up as a clown” among answer choices, anticipating either like instead of as or verb after as. These sentences may very well be correct. Another important thing is that most experts say that comma usage is not tested on GMAT. However, there are substantial meaning shifts resulting from comma:

I want to coach divers like Greg Louganis. (= divers who are like Greg)
I want to coach divers, like Greg Louganis. (= Greg coaches divers; I want to do so)

You should walk as she wants you to walk. (= in the same way)
You should walk, as she wants you to walk. (= because she wants)

Students learn to think as their professor does. (= in the same way as their professor thinks)
Students learn to think, as their professor does. (= students and their professor learn to think)

Last but not least, as is differently used than as__ as__ and more/less__ than__. While using as__ as__ and more/less__ than__ you can omit units, verbs, and even whole clauses from the second term if there is no ambiguity, for example:

I walk as fast as (I walked) when I was younger.
Linking arrangements... evolved as fast in the United States as (they did) in most other developed countries.

The clothes looked more appealing inside the store than (they did) on the racks outside.
Linking arrangements... evolved faster in the United States than (they did) in most other developed countries.

But as I already have mentioned, we need a verb for as to work as a comparison, thus:

E) Linking arrangements... never evolved in the United States as they did in most other developed countries.

• Split # 1: Linking arrangements must modify secondary schools and workplace
Linking arrangements refer to [what did not happen between] secondary schools and the workplace

Options B and D incorrectly place "in the United States" immediately after "linking arrangements."
Eliminate B and D

• Split #2 - between, not among

Although secondary schools and workplaces are numerous (more than two),
we still use between in this situation because:
1) the linkage is between two sets of institutions; and
2) the logic of the sentence suggests a bilateral (two-way) connection between two "places"
rather than a web of connections among many different kinds of places

Options A and B incorrectly use among rather than between.
Eliminate A. (B is already gone.)

• Split #3 - Parallelism

Comparison word: Xs never evolved AS ________

(1) The verb on the RHS of the comparison should be DID, not have
(2) there must be a subject and a verb on the right hand side of the comparison
because as should be followed by a clause and parallelism must be maintained

"Evolved" is a simple past tense verb.
The verb in the first part of the comparison determines the tense of the verb in the second part.
We use the verbs do, does, and did often to stand in for other verbs (so that we do not have to repeat the verb phrase)
Did can substitute for any verb in the first part of a comparison except
-- a TO BE verb; or
-- TO HAVE if have is an auxiliary (helping verb)
Did can "stand in" for the action verb "evolved."

Have is not a past tense verb;
Xs between Ys and Zs never evolved as Xs have is not parallel.
DID, correctly, is past tense, just as evolved is

Options D and A incorrectly use HAVE rather than DID.

Option C needs a subject and a verb after the as
-- as should be followed by a clause
-- the action verb evolved needs to show up on both sides of the comparison in some way.
-- We can often omit linking verbs (to be, to become, to seem) in the second part of a comparison. Not so when other verbs are in play.
-- "in most other developed countries" is just a prepositional phrase.
It has no subject or verb and is not a clause -- but we need a clause for AS.
-- Xs between Ys and Zs in the U.S. never evolved as [] in other countries is not parallel
Eliminate C (A and D are already gone )

Answer E
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Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options to the correct one! To begin, let's do a quick scan over the options and highlight any major differences in orange:

Linking arrangements among secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they have in most other developed countries.

A. among secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they have
B. in the United States among secondary schools and the workplace never evolved as they did
C. between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as
D. in the United States between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved as they have
E. between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they did

After a quick glance over the options, a couple key differences jump out:

1. among vs. between (Idioms)
2. as they have / as they did / as (Parallelism)

Let's start with #1 on our list: among vs. between. There is a difference between using "among" versus "between" when combining things:

between = 2 items
among = 3+ items

Since we're only talking about 2 items (secondary schools & the workplace), we need to use "between" here:

A. among secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they have
B. in the United States among secondary schools and the workplace never evolved as they did
C. between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as
D. in the United States between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved as they have
E. between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they did

We can eliminate options A & B because they use "among" to combine 2 things, when "between" is the correct way to say that.

Now that we've narrowed it down a bit, let's tackle #2 on our list: parallelism. We need to make sure that the two items being compared are parallel in nature. Let's look at each option more carefully with the remainder of the original sentence to ensure they are parallel:

C. between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as in most other developed countries.
This is INCORRECT because it's creating a false comparison! This sentence is comparing the evolution in the United States to other countries, and NOT the evolution in other countries! This is not a parallel comparison, so let's rule this one out.

D. in the United States between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved as they have in most other developed countries.
This is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, whenever we replace the action verb in a comparison, we typically use a form of the verb "to do" (do, did, does) and not "to have" (have, has, had). Second, the sentence is discussing past tense events, yet the verb "have" is present tense, which doesn't match!

E. between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they did in most other developed countries.
This is CORRECT! It uses the past tense "did" to stay consistent with the rest of the sentence, and the phrase "they did" is a parallel replacement for "linking arrangement evolved." This sentence is comparing the evolution in the United States with the evolution in other countries, which is parallel.

There you have it - option E is the correct choice! If you can become familiar with common idioms that appear on the GMAT and understand how to handle comparisons, answering these types of questions on the GMAT should be a breeze!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning of the sentence is key to solving this question; the intended meaning is that linking arrangements between secondary schools and the workplace did not evolve in the United States, but did evolve in most other developed countries.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns + Tenses + Idioms

• “between” is used for comparing two elements, and “among” is used for comparing more than two elements.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past
• The present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.

A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb "have (evolved)" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present. Further, Option A incorrectly uses "among" to compare two elements - "secondary schools" and "the workplace"; remember, “between” is used for comparing two elements, and “among” is used for comparing more than two elements.

B: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "Linking arrangements in the United States"; the use of "in the United States" to modify "Linking arrangments" illogically implies that the linking arrangements did evolve in the United States, but these same linking arrangments in the United States, did not evolve in most other developed countries; the intended meaning is that such linking arrangements did not evolve in the United States, but such arrangements did evolve in most other developed countries. Further, Option B incorrectly uses "among" to compare two elements - "secondary schools" and "the workplace"; remember, “between” is used for comparing two elements, and “among” is used for comparing more than two elements.

C: The sentence formed by this answer choice uses the phrase "as in most other developed countries"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that linking arrangements between secondary schools and the workplace did not evolve in the United States, and in the same way such arrangments did not evolve in most other developed nations; the intended meaning is that linking arrangements between secondary schools and the workplace did not evolve in the United States, but such arrangments did evolve in most other developed countries.

D: The sentence formed by this answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "Linking arrangements in the United States"; the use of "in the United States" to modify "Linking arrangments" illogically implies that the linking arrangements did evolve in the United States, but these same linking arrangments, in the United States, did not evolve in most other developed countries; the intended meaning is that such linking arrangements did not evolve in the United States, but such arrangements did evolve in most other developed countries. Further, Option D incorrectly uses the present perfect tense verb "have (evolved)" to refer to an action that concluded in the past; remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to actions that concluded in the past, and the present perfect tense (marked by the use of the helping verb “has/have”) is used to describe events that concluded in the past but continue to affect the present.

E: The sentence formed by this answer choice uses the phrase "never evolved in the United States as they did in most other developed countries"; the construction of this phrase and the use of "in the United States" to modify "never evolved" convey the intended meaning - that linking arrangements between secondary schools and the workplace did not evolve in the United States, but such arrangments did evolve in most other developed countries. Further, Option E correctly uses the simple past tense verb "did" to refer to an action that concluded in the past. Additionally, Option E correctly uses "between" to compare two elements - "secondary schools" and "the workplace"

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

Additional Note: Some of you may be confused as to why "between" is used in the correct answer choice when the comparison seems to involve multiple secondary schools; to answer this query, the term "secondary schools" is used to refer to the collective category of secondary schools; in other words, the linking arrangement referred to in this sentence links all secondary schools, as a unit, to the workplace, not all secondary schools to one another and the workplace.

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



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



To understand the concept of "Present Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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Linking arrangements among secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they have in most other developed countries.


Here discussion is about linking arrangements between 2 items: secondary schools and workplace. So among cannot be used. Among is used for more than 2 items. Between is used for 2 items. ELIMINATED

Same error as in option A. ELIMINATED

Here the evolution is being compared with other developed countries. Wrong comparison. ELIMINATED

linking arrangements should be followed by the items, which are being linked. Rather than using "Linking arrangements in the US", we can say "Linking arrangements between X and Y in the US." The second one is more accurate to convey meaning. ELIMINATED

this is the best choice among the lot and doesn't have any of the above-discussed errors. CORRECT

OPTION: E

IMHO E

A. among secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they have

B. in the United States among secondary schools and the workplace never evolved as they did -Misplaced Modifier

C. between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as - wrong elliptical construction

D. in the United States between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved as they have-Misplaced Modifier

E. between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as they did - correct

Hi,
The original sentence has only one issue: usage of among. Among is used for more than two entities.
Here, original sentence has only two entities, secondary schools and workplace. So, between X and Y structure must be used instead.
B can be rejected on similar grounds.
C corrects the usage of among and replaces it with between but it creates another error at the end of the sentence. Now the action of evolving is not parallel.
D has “have” at the end of the sentence, which creates a verb tense error. The action is in past.
E, finally, is correct. Between X and Y is used correctly.
Agreements never evolved in US as they did in other...Nice and parallel.

Posted from my mobile device
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generis VeritasKarishma AjiteshArun GMATNinja

I agree with daagh 's explanation for eliminating C, but the difference between intended meaning is so subtle.
How do I eliminate C on grounds of incorrect comparison and why I can not assume main verb in past tense again as
in below version of C:

Linking arrangements between secondary schools and the workplace never evolved in the United States as (they = linking arrangements , did = evolved) as they have
in most other developed countries.

(The text in bracket is assumed.)

There is no apparent contrast in original sentence.
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Hi, while we wait for an expert to respond, here is my take. We can assume a verb/predicate only if it is unambiguous. While it is contextual, usually you can do so when an intransitive verb is in play (verbs which don't take objects). Consider these two examples:

- I arrive as late to the classes as X does. Here, you can skip does and expect the meaning to not change.
- I like pizzas more than Hrithik does. This is where it gets tricky. If I don't state the does explicitly here, there is a possibility that I am comparing pizzas to Hrithik. So, I have to make the comparison explicit. I cannot ASSUME always.

Hope this helps. Cheers!

Hi adkikani,

I actually agree with anud33p. On reading option C, both interpretations sound equally likely to me. I'd remove this option just for the ambiguity (of meaning).

It'd be great to come back to this question for a second look and to get more opinions as well.
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But Sir in E , THEY refers to what ? United States ( as it is closed to THEY ) or arrangements .
This kind of ambiguity issue we often find in SC splits

janadipesh Ambiguity errors aren't as common as one might think. It's quite normal to have multiple plural nouns, as long as the intended meaning is clear. Here, "they" wouldn't refer to the US since that's in the preceding modifier, and also because it doesn't fit the overall meaning. Additionally, when the meaning really is ambiguous, the GMAT is more likely to fix the problem by providing a noun than by simply cutting the pronoun out. The meaning of C is less clear than the meaning of E! We can read C as daagh did, viewing "as in most other developed countries" as an adverbial modifier applying to the entire clause. However, that would typically mean we should have a comma before the modifier. Without the comma, I'd read it as part of a comparison--it never evolved HERE as it did THERE. In other words, it evolved in different ways. Either way, that's not the intended meaning. E makes much more sense.
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The obscurity in C arises because of one basic factor that leads to a subtle change of meaning in comparisons.

1. Whenever there is an action verb (say for example jump, construct, dance, etc) then what is compared is the action. In such a case, the subjects or nouns are relegated to the background.
2. However, whenever there is a linking verb or status verb such as be, is, am, and all those derivatives of be, or verbs like have and its derivatives, or feel, look, etc), what is compared is not the verb but the subjects.

Now let us analyze C.



Here the verb is evolved, which is an action verb. Therefore, unless you repeat that action in the other arm of comparison, the comparison will turn out to be between action and another noun. This is faulty. That is the reason C is messing up the comparison. On the other hand, we may see that in E, the other side uses an equivalent verb 'did', which gives clear-cut meaning.
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Hi daagh,
Thank you for such a nice differentiation. Could you please explain a bit more with respect to your second point?


How are feel and look not action verbs?
For example: I looked at the photographs. Isn’t looked an action verb here?

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Doer
True. 'feel' and 'like' are dual verbs both action and linking; ( There are many more such dual verbs )
Example: I feel tired - linking;
I felt the warmth of the geyser water -. action.
She looks gorgeous -- linking,
He looked at the candidate - action
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Doer

Let me put it this way. When you are comparing two nouns, the focus is on the nouns and not on the actions. For example:
John is taller than his brother. We do not say John is taller than his brother is. Because the comparison is just between two nouns namely John and his brother and not how tall both are.

However, look at this now.

John jumps higher than his brother- This is wrong; Here we are comparing John’s jumping with his brother‘s jumping, a comparison of two actions and hence both the actions must be explicitly stated.

In the given case, the numbers of the previous times are being compared with the numbers of the present time – essentially a comparison of two nouns. Hence, we can afford to drop the verbal comparison.

( Reproduced from some earlier writing)
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great explanation.

this error is hard to realize. how do we prepare for this trick.
if there is no negation word such as "never", repeatation of subject+did is redundant
I worked last year as I did in the year 2000
"I did" is redundant and the sentence should be " I worked last year as in the year 2000"

but the point is GMAT NEVER TEST THIS ERROR OF REDUNDANCE.
yes, gmat never test "subject+do" as redundant phrase.

so, if we see a split between "than+ adverb of context" and "subject+do+adverb of context" , think about negation word in the first clause and dont think about redundancy.

While I see that choice C creates ambiguity, I don't agree that C is wrong because of a wrong comparison. It's not comparing "never evolved" to "other countries". With "in most other developed countries", what comes after "as" is not a noun. So to me, Choice C is comparing "xxxxx in the U.S." & "xxxxx in other countries". I do agree that xxxx is ambiguous in this case.