mSKR wrote:
As it is with traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successful, since it is primarily prescriptions that attract the customers, who then also buy other health-related items.
Hi @
AndrewN AjiteshArun: Please check my analysis below for B, C and D. I tried this question several times in last 2 days. Still I am not able to reach at the right answer.
Quote:
(D) As traditional pharmacies, so on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successful, since
Question1: Can we reject it on basis that Since and So are duplicate in meaning together? Is my approach right?
Since XXX , Online drug xxx
Since XX ,
so Online xx – since and so duplication
Question2: I think I am missing something in my approach to handle B and C. I improved SC efficiency by changing the strategy to seek an option that can provide clear and concise meaning literally. This one I faltered . Here is my analysis:
Need your expertise opinions.
Quote:
(B) As with the case of traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to have success
Adding description of case: what case?
As with case of traditional pharmacies
to rely on prescriptions to have success, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to have success
Meaning wise:As traditional pharmacies rely on prescriptions to have success,
on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to have success
Comparison wise:traditional pharmacies rely vs on-line drugstores rely
I choose B.
Note: I didn't want to reject B only because it is prepositional phrase with AS,I don't think i can remember such rules for long. So i kept reasoning based on meaning wise.
Quote:
(C) As is the case with traditional pharmacies, prescriptions are the cornerstone of a successful on-line drugstore
As
the case is with traditional pharmacies,
something is similar with online drugstore
Case = prescriptions are the cornerstone
Reading with whole meaning wise:
As
prescriptions are the cornerstone is with traditional pharmacies,
prescriptions are the cornerstone of a successful on-line drugstore
Comparison wise:Case vs prescriptions
But what I am looking for comparison :
traditional pharmacies rely vs on-line drugstores rely
Hence I rejected C
AndrewN AjiteshArun: Please suggest where did I falter in B and C based on literal meaning strategy
Thanks!

Hello,
mSKR. I am not sure I can answer your question to your satisfaction, based on the "literal meaning strategy" you wish for me to invoke. I did narrow this one down to (A) and (C) pretty quickly, but then I took a little extra time to qualify each answer choice, and I opted for (C). My take on the answers:
Quote:
As it is with traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successful, since it is primarily prescriptions that attract the customers, who then also buy other health-related items.
A. As it is with traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successful
I do not like the double placeholders at all in
it (in the underlined portion) and
it (right after the underlined portion). The sentence is difficult to follow. I also wonder about the phrase
to be successful, which sounds as if the
prescriptions themselves are supposed to generate success, rather than the stores that peddle them. That is, if you wrap up the phrase into the single-word adjective
successful and place it ahead of the noun it modifies, are we talking about
successful drugstores or
successful prescriptions? I have two doubts here on the whole, enough for me to seek a safer alternative.
Quote:
B. As with the case of traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to have success
In general,
with should warrant caution, as it is used in many reasonable-sounding answers that end up being wrong. Here,
as with is improper usage in the idiomatic construct
as is the case. To be honest, I eliminated this one right away. But I felt even better about my decision when I saw
have at the end instead of
be. You can
enjoy success, or you can
be successful, but to
have success? That sounds off, particularly when we had a perfectly reasonable alternative in the original sentence. Finally,
to have success repeats the dual meaning issue we encountered at the tail-end of the previous answer choice. We still cannot say for sure whether drugstores or prescriptions are meant to
have success.
Quote:
C. As is the case with traditional pharmacies, prescriptions are the cornerstone of a successful on-line drugstore
Now the issues from before have been addressed. The proper idiom is used in the comparison, and
successful has finally found a home. After the underlined portion, there is a special emphasis placed on prescriptions in the
It is... prescriptions that construct. A simple
since prescriptions attract would do, but it would not be as emphatic. Since the underlined portion identifies prescriptions as
the cornerstone of pharmacies, the
it is... that construct seems fitting. In short, I have no issues with this answer choice.
Quote:
D. As traditional pharmacies, so on-line drugstores rely on prescriptions to be successful
This is an improper usage of an
as X, so [too] Y comparison. Something else needs to be attached to the first part to draw a comparison using
as. Otherwise,
like would be used to compare a noun to another noun:
Like traditional pharmacies, on-line drugstores... The open-ended
to be successful only serves to further weaken the viability of this option.
Quote:
E. Like traditional pharmacies, the cornerstone of a successful on-line drugstore is prescriptions
Right idea, wrong execution. In this type of noun-to-noun comparison, similar entities need to be compared—
pharmacies and
the cornerstone are not similar entities. If we want to compare cornerstones (in a manner of speaking), we can invoke
the case, as seen in other options. This should be another straightforward elimination.
I hope that helps you in some way, even if I more or less explained my own approach. Thank you for thinking to ask me, and as always, good luck with your studies.
- Andrew
_________________
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official questions from the Official Guide or Verbal Review to practice for the Verbal section.