Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
chuckle wrote:
According to a recent poll, owning and living in a freestanding house on its own land is still a goal of a majority of young adults, like that of earlier generations.
(A) like that of earlier generations
(B) as that for earlier generations
(C) just as earlier generations did
(D) as have earlier generations
(E) as it was of earlier generations
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Idioms• “like” is used for comparing nouns, “as” is used for comparing actions/clauses, and “such as” is used for giving examples.
• Comparison must always be made between similar elements.
A: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly compares the clause “owning and living in a freestanding house on its own land is still a goal of a majority of young adults” to the phrase “that of earlier generations”; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements. Further, Option A incorrectly uses “like” to compare a clause; 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 clause “owning and living in a freestanding house on its own land is still a goal of a majority of young adults” to the phrase “that for earlier generations”; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements.
C: This answer choice incorrectly compares “owning and living in a freestanding house on its own land is still a goal of a majority of young adults” to “earlier generations did”; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements.
D: This answer choice incorrectly compares the clause “owning and living in a freestanding house on its own land is still a goal of a majority of young adults” to the phrase “have earlier generations”; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements.
E: Correct. This answer choice correctly compares the clauses “owning and living in a freestanding house on its own land is still a goal of a majority of young adults” and “it was of earlier generations”. Further, Option D correctly uses “as” to compare two clauses.
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 (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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