@vishalsinghvs08 wrote:
Hello experts
May I have some help in Option E, please
The structure is - the study found that x had more difficulty than Y.
where X = people who sent in resumes with "ethic-sounding"
and Y = People who sent in resumes showing similar qualifications but with "white-sounding names".
We can simply compare X and Y. Why do we need an additional "did"? Aren't we supposed to compare only nouns(or noun phrases) when using "than"?
By using an additional "did", we are comparing the action of "had difficulty",a usage that is not valid for "than"
Please correct me if my understanding is wrong. Thank you.
KarishmaB DanTheGMATManHi
vishalsinghvs08, I'll be happy to help.
Whilst you
can compare noun phrases directly with 'than' or 'as', the point is that
'than' and
'as' can also act as CONJUNCTIONS (and therefore be used to compare
CLAUSES). We often add in a little something -- whether it be a preposition, verb, or, in some cases, even a clause -- in the second half to avoid
ambiguity. Here, the additional verb
did does just this. If there is no ambiguity, the additional verb/preposition etc. may not be needed.
Here the ambiguity is wrt how one would parse the comparison objects -- are we comparing the difficulty that the
two sets of applicants had in hearing back from employers, OR
Are we comparing the difficulty the first group of applicants had in hearing back from
employers vs in hearing back from
the second group of applicants?
Using a clause in the second arm of the comparison removes this ambiguity, which exists in, for example, (C).
Where an ambiguity does not exist, a helping verb is not needed. Check, for example, [url="https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-his-eagerness-to-find-a-city-worthy-of-priam-the-german-archaeolog-281055.html"]this official question[/url].
Hope this clarifies.