Baseball, the only major professional sport during the Great Depressio

The clue for the difference between A and E lie in the words much and often, The original says much which implies that the discussion was deep, a non–countable quantum, but E changes it saying that the discussion was often meaning frequently or many times, implying a countable number of times. So E doesn’t stick to the original in spirit and letter.

(A) as present as the weather, and as much discussed.
Correct comparison "as X as Y". As much discussed as an add on leads to clear meaning that both presence and discussion are compared.
(B) present like the weather was, and it was also discussed as much
cannot use "like" with a clause (the weather was). Unclear meaning of the discussion. "It" doesn't have a clear referent.
(C) as present and was discussed as the weather was
Incorrect comparison - looking for "as X as Y" with similar structure for X & Y.
(D) so present as to be discussed like the weather
improper meaning for the comparison. What does it mean to be discussed like the weather?
(E) present and discussed as often as the weather was
sentence does not compare the presence of both things, only how often they were discussed.

Correct answer A.

KW

[quote="divineacclivity"]Baseball, the only major professional sport during the Great Depression, was as present as the weather, and as much discussed.

A. as present as the weather, and as much discussed ---- CORRECT
B. present like the weather was, and it was also discussed as much ---- incorrect usage of "like" . Even when "like" is used to set "similar to", it should only be used to link a noun to a clause. It can't link two clauses together.
C. as present and was discussed as the weather was ---- Not parallel and distorts the idiom as____as. Inside the "as___as" structure we can't place a verb such as "was discussed".
D. so present as to be discussed like the weather ---- Changes the meaning. Idiom "so X as Y" does not set a comparison.
E. present and discussed as often as the weather was ----- Changes the meaning. We need "as much discussed as"

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-



Choice A: Option A preserves the intended meaning of the sentence, avoids pronoun ambiguity, and maintains parallelism. Thus, Option A is correct.

Choice B: Option B uses the word "like" to link a clause; to link clauses, the word “as” must be used. Moreover, the pronoun "it" does not have a clear referent. Thus, Option B is incorrect.

Choice C: Option C does not utilize the correct idiomatic structure, "as X as Y". Thus, Option C is incorrect.

Choice D: Option D distorts the intended meaning of the sentence, as "so present as to be discussed" fails to convey that baseball was as common as the weather. Thus, Option D is incorrect.

Choice E: Option E distorts the intended meaning of the sentence, as "was present and discussed" fails to convey that baseball was as common as the weather; rather, this phrase only implies that baseball was present and, separately, as discussed as the weather. Thus, Option E is incorrect.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

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



To understand the concept of “Avoiding Pronoun Ambiguity on GMAT”, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

This question is based on Comparison.

The sentence draws a comparison between baseball and weather on the basis of the extent to which both were present and were discussed.
The comparative word ‘as’ is always followed by another ‘as’ to complete the comparison.

Option A contains the complete expression – as present as the weather. The adverb ‘much’ conveys the extent or degree to which baseball and weather were discussed. So, A is the best of all the options.

Option B contains the idiomatically inappropriate conjunction ‘like’. This conjunction cannot be used to make a comparison between two clauses. This option is also wordy and contains an ambiguous pronoun - it. So, Option B can be eliminated.

In Option C, the comparative phrase is incomplete. The conjunction ‘as’ is not repeated after the adjective ‘present’. The verb ‘was’ at the end of the option is redundant. So, Option C can be eliminated.

Option D is worded in a clumsy manner. It contains the idiomatically inappropriate conjunction ‘like’. When ‘so’ is used as a conjunction followed by an adjective, the phrase is completed by the relative pronoun ‘that’. The correct expression would be - so present that it is discussed. The relative pronoun 'that' is missing in this option. So, Option D can also be eliminated.

The adverb ‘often’ changes the meaning in Option E. Discussions may take place 'often' but weather cannot be said to be present 'often'. So, Option E can be eliminated.

Therefore, A is the most appropriate option.

Jayanthi Kumar.

Dears, GmatNinja, CrackVerbalGMAT,

Can you please explain/confirm if the rule on gmat exists that the final answer must not change the meaning of option A?

I often encounter cases when experts post that some answer choice changes the meaning. But if the answer choice is gramatically and stracturally correct and does not have any flaws (say, passive voive, etc), who cares that it changes the meaning from answer choice A? I have never seen in the official GMAT instructions that we should eliminate such answers.

Please share your instructions regarding this matter.

P.s. I'd like to mention that this does not have to do with this question. I understand that the weather is always present, not often.

Posted from my mobile device

Dear @egamt, dear ExpertsGlobal5, dear GMATNinja,

I was one of the many stuck between answer choices A&E. I do realize that E has a different meaning, but to me it seems to be a more logical meaning. Baseball can never be as present as the weather as the wheather exists continously while a baseball game only lasts a few hours at most. Therefore, I find it strange to make the comparison as is done in A. I do understand that this sentence was meant to be hyperbole however due to the strange comparison E seems better to me.

How do I know what the intended meaning is? Sometimes answer choice A is incorrect as it does not convey the intended meaning correctly. But how can I deciver what the actual intended meaning is?

For A, how come we aren't saying 'as present as the weather WAS'?

dear experts such as Gmat ninja, e_gmat, mikemcgarry ,, kindly explain how come we are using in option A comma+and construction to make only two things parallel, since its a list which contains only 2 iteam therefore it should only has and,,,kindly explain