Unlike using spices for cooking, in medicinal usage they are taken in

D works best (ps. I got this one wrong first time from SC1000).

A. Unlike using spices for cooking, in medicinal usage they are taken // Unlike X, Y-both X and Y should be parallel. “using spices” is not parallel to in medicinal usage.

B. Unlike spices that are used in cooking, in using spices for medicine, they are taken // Same problem as in A. spices is not parallel to prep phrase using spices.

C. Unlike cooking with spices, taking spices for medicinal use is done// cooking and taking don’t need to be made parallel – we need to make cooking and medicinal usage parallel.

D. In cooking, small quantities of spices are used, whereas in medicinal usage spices are taken // In X , whereas in Y : both X and Y should be parallel. prep phrases “in cooking” and “in medicinal usage” are parallel Correct Answer.

E. In cooking, the usage of spices is in small quantities, whereas in medicinal usage they are taken.// This is a contender – standard usage is noun followed by a verb. In this case:
usage of spices is in small quantities is incorrect; “they” lacks a clear referent.

FYI this is a GMAT Prep question and the correct answer indeed is D

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-



Choice A: This answer choice incorrectly compares "spices" to "medicinal usage". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice B: This answer choice compares "spices" to "in using". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice C: This answer choice incorrectly modifies the noun phrase "taking spices for medical use" with the phrase "is done in large quantities"; here, "taking" is a gerund and refers to the practice of taking spices for medical use. Therefore, the use of the modifier phrase "is done in large quantities" incorrectly implies that the practice is done in large quantities rather than the intended meaning that large quantities of the spices are consumed. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice D: This answer choice maintains proper comparison, modifier use, and parallelism throughout the sentence. Moreover, this answer choice is also quite concise and conveys the intended meaning of the sentence. Thus, this answer choice is correct.

Choice E: This answer choice incorrectly compares "the usage", a noun, to "they are taken", a verb phrase. The use of the passive voice also makes this answer choice quite awkward. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

One important thing to note here is that Option C does not commit the error of using "like" to compare verbs, although it may seem to do so at first glance. The phrases "cooking with spices" and "taking spices" are not verbs; they are gerunds and refer to the practices of "cooking..." and "taking..." respectively.

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



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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choice e literally says that the usage of spices is 'in small quantities', which is not the proper message. this could mean that you don't use spices very often, but, when you do, you dump 14 kilos of allspice and 12 kilos of paprika in your pan.

the sentence needs to convey the message that the spices are the things of which quantities are small. choice d conveys this message well.

one could say that d isn't 100% parallel, but it's definitely more parallel than the other choices: in cooking, (noun) is used (passive voice construction); in medicinal usage, (noun) are taken (passive voice construction).
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Hello Skywalker18,


You have presented an excellent analysis of Choices D and E. Very well expressed. Keep up the good work of helping the community with such insightful posts.


The point about parallelism that you have raised in your post is quite valid.


The thing to note about the correct answer choice D is that it uses the contrast word whereas that does not strictly act as a parallel marker. Yes, it should be followed by a clause that we do see in Choice D.


Moreover, both the clauses on both sides of whereas are in passive voice. Yes, the subjects of these two clauses are not the same. But still the two clauses present the intended contrast correctly.


Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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Question: Unlike using spices for cooking, in medicinal usage they are taken in large quantities in order to treat particular maladies.

Intended meaning of this sentence:
This sentence mentioned two usages of spices: (1) for cooking & (2) in medicine.
Difference between these two usage:
In medicine, large quantity of spices is used with a purpose. (which is different from cooking usage)
In cooking, small quantity of spices is used (even if this info is not mentioned in the question, we can infer because sentence says cooking usage is UNLIKE medicine usage).

So, this sentence intends to compare two usages of spices in terms of usage-quantity

Rule 1: If you use LIKE/UNLIKE yyyy before subject, LIKE/UNLIKE compares yyyy with MAIN WORD SUBJECT of the main clause.

(A) Unlike using spices for cooking, in medicinal usage they are taken.
Here, THEY=spices for cooking [because if you they, you are using whole noun, not a fraction. If you use THAT/THOSE, you are using a FRACTION of previous NOUN.
Species are being compared with Species. This comparison is not our intended comparison. Our intended comparison is cooking vs medical usage.

(B) Unlike spices that are used in cooking, in using spices for medicine, they are taken
Here, THEY=spices that are used in cooking [because if you they, you are using whole noun, not a fraction. If you use THAT/THOSE, you are using a FRACTION of previous NOUN.
Species are being compared with Species. This comparison is not our intended comparison. Our intended comparison is cooking vs medical usage.

(C) Unlike cooking with spices, taking spices for medicinal use is done - Incorrect comparison of cooking & spices
COOKING is being compared with TAKING SPICES. This comparison is ILLOGICAL and is not our intended comparison. Our intended comparison is cooking vs medical usage.

(D) In cooking, small quantities of spices are used, whereas in medicinal usage spices are taken

(E) In cooking, the usage of spices is in small quantities,whereas in medicinal usage they are taken

"the usage of spices is in small quantities" may give us two meanings.
1. Smaller Quantity.
2. Smaller Scope.

Let me give an example for explaining "Smaller Scope".
Why we use MOBILE: for calling, texting, calculating, taking photos, browsing internet, watching movies,etc.
WHY we use CALCULATOR: for calculation only.

So, the usage of MOBILE is in smaller quantity than is CALCULATOR.

"In cooking, the usage of spices is in small quantities" may mean that in cooking we use species only for better fragrance (not for many usages like freshness, healthiness, etc).
That is not our intended comparison.

(D) In cooking, small quantities of spices are used, whereas in medicinal usage spices are taken

(E) In cooking, the usage of spices is in small quantities,whereas in medicinal usage they are taken

NOUN vs PRONOUN:

If one option has NOUN and the other has a PRONOUN (for the same noun), the option with NOUN is almost always better because PRONOUN may have a chance of ambiguity in referring two nouns, but NOUN clears such ambiguity.

Unlike using spices for cooking, in medicinal usage they are taken in large quantities in order to treat particular maladies

(A) Unlike using spices for cooking, in medicinal usage they are taken Verb "using" is incorrectly compared to noun "they". Eliminate.

(B) Unlike spices that are used in cooking, in using spices for medicine, they are taken Noun "spices" is incorrectly compared to an action "using spices...". Eliminate.

(C) Unlike cooking with spices, taking spices for medicinal use is done "Taking" + "is done" is redundant. Eliminate.

(D) In cooking, small quantities of spices are used, whereas in medicinal usage spices are taken Correct answer. Correct parallelism is maintained between prepositional phrases "in cooking" and another action "in medicinal usage". No new errors are introduced.

(E) In cooking, the usage of spices is in small quantities, whereas in medicinal usage they are taken "usage of spices" is not parallel to "they are taken". Unnecessary use of passive voice. Eliminate.

Hope this helps.
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EducationAisle I went through the forum and noticed that (E) has a meaning error. But I am not able to completely grasp this meaning bases error. Please could you help out

Couple of things that tilt the choice in favor of D:

i) D is more parallel (X....are used... and Y are taken...)

ii) Pronoun they is ambiguous in E. Now, there are numerous instances on GMAT where pronoun ambiguity is acceptable, but here, we do have a better option (option D) that does not have this issue.
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Can you please help me understand how to decide between option D and E
I eliminated D because??small quantities is compared with medicinal usage

Hey Jayshah1997

Happy to help.

E: In cooking, the usage of spices is in small quantities, whereas in medicinal usage they are taken in large quantities in order to treat particular maladies.

There are two errors in choice E:

1. Awkward construction:
The clause "the usage of spices is in small quantities" is incorrect. We wish to say that either "spices are used in small quantities" or "small quantities of spices are used" or "the quantities of spices used are small". "Usage is in small quantities" is awkward and incorrect.

2. Pronoun Ambiguity;
The pronoun "they" is awkward and potentially ambiguous. Does "they" refer to the 'spices' or to the 'quantities'?

For these reasons, D is a much better choice than E.

I hope this helps.


Happy Learning!

Abhishek
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