A recent research paper, submitted by a team of noted psychologists an

A recent research paper, submitted by a team of noted psychologists and neurologists, on kleptomania suggests that it is a mental disorder and appeals that the law should distinguish “theft addicts”, who intentionally steal for monetary gains, from kleptomaniacs, who are often unaware of their actions .

A. “theft addicts”, who intentionally steal for monetary gains, from kleptomaniacs, who are often unaware of their actions --> correct: "distinguish A from B' os the correct idiom
B. “theft addicts”, intentionally stealing for monetary gains, from kleptomaniacs, who are often unaware of their actions --> (1) comma+ ing doesn't modify the touched noun, & (2) not parallel like "noun, who .. , from noun, who.." as in A
C. between “theft addicts”, who intentionally steal for monetary gains, and kleptomaniacs, who are unaware of their actions --> no "from"
D. between “theft addicts”, who intentionally steal for monetary gains, from kleptomaniacs, who are often unaware of their actions --> "between ... and" missing
E. “theft addicts”, who intentionally steal for monetary gains, and kleptomaniacs, who are often unaware of their actions --> no "from"

If the kleptomaniac is only often unaware but if he is aware sometimes then it may not be prudent to grant him amnesty by law. Perhaps C is better since it misses the word'often'

Though distinguish X from Y is oftenly used but this is wrong and the correct idiomatic usage is - distinguish + between + X + and + Y
Hence, C is the only qualifying option as per grammatical rules.

So, would you agree that Distinguish A from B is not idiomatic?

I wouldn't think so. You distinguish between X, Y, when you consider X, and Y in their entireties, arrive at the sum of their several similarities and dissimilarities but not just one particular trait.
On the other hand, if you consider only one or two characters from among the several others of X and Y, then you are distinguishing one from the other

In the given case, we are not considering a general outlook of habitual thieves from unintending people. This is one specific attribute, and hence I vote 'distinguish … from.'
My previous writing was not focused on idiomatic appropriateness but legal vulnerability.

Awesome! Thank you for the detailed explanation!

egmat
Can you confirm whether "Distinguish X from Y" is correct idiom or not.

I came to option A by framing the sentence as

you distinguish A from B
Hence C,D,E got eliminated.
Between A and B , B used continuous tense which did not fit . Hence I chose A

Please explain why option C is not being preferred as the correct answer choice here.

C misses the word 'often' from the original, which is a crucial error in addition to the 'distinguish... between' nuance

aragonn

Please share OE

Great explanation. This should quite settle the debate.

Further, regarding whether the sentence is better with the term "often" or without it, the argument that skipping the term "often" would lead to a stronger case for the appeal is not a matured one; the appeal would be valid even if the unawareness is often (and not always). The usage of the term "often" needs to be looked at from the view of the characteristics of the kleptomaniacs; to claim that they are "always" (and not often) unaware would be too strong to be true and hence, the usage of the term "often" is desired.

Tip: when in doubt, go with the meaning in the original sentence; GMAT will not test you on such nuanced reasoning as highlighted above; hence, we have deliberately kept the term "often" in choice A and not C; else, yes, the question would be more difficult but less GMAT-like . Having the term "often" in A serves as a hint, to the candidates, of the intended meaning without getting into the nuanced highlighted reasoning above.

Here is the official explanation-



All the best!
Experts' Global team

egmat Sir/Ma'am I clearly remember that according to your Verbal Only course Distinguish X from Y is used very often but is incorrect. But in this question option A is the OA. Can you please help ?

Other experts please help. Magoosh GMATNinja VeritasKarishma ManhattanPrep

Hello,

Both usages are acceptable. Besides, GMAT will never ask you to choose purely between "distinguish between..." and "distinguish from"; if you are caught between these two, you need to look for a fundamental, conceptual error.

A general note-
Generally, idioms should not be considered deal-breakers/makers and core, conceptual reasons should be preferred for elimination.

Nonetheless, here is a short video to clarify your query about the usage of "distinguish"--



Hope this helps.

All the best!
Experts' Global

Doesn't distinguish A from B mean A is a sub-set of B?

daagh

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