Hello GmatClub, Whenever I see a comparison type SC question, I was quick to narrow into the "than that in/of" answer. However, I'm starting to realize that it isn't as straightforward as that. May I stir discussion on this type of question. Consider: a. My exam performance was better in 2010 than 2011 . Clearly wrong . b. My exam performance was better in 2010 than in 2011 . Seems right . c. My exam performance was better in 2010 than that in 2011 . Seems right too . Explanation: The "that" in c is implied in b and can be left out. Now things get trickier if we're mixing tenses. e. My exam performance is better now than it was in 2011 . It refers to exam performance, we're good . f. My exam performance is better now than that in 2011 . Wrong because the parallelism in e is missing. g. My exam performance is better now than in 2011 . What you guys think ? Explanation: Because we are comparing now and 2011, we have to introduce the tense is / was. Because of this, we can't imply the pronoun like we did in b. I'm on the fence for g. Lastly, let's wrap up with an actual GMAT example, which stumped me, and focus on the two near correct answers. In 1979 lack of rain reduced India's rice production to about 41 million tons, nearly 25 percent less than those of the 1978 harvest . (A) less than those of the 1978 harvest (B) less than the 1978 harvest Answer is B. For me, the hard part of eliminating A is when I refer " those " to " rice production ". I know I can't do that because those is plural and production is singular. Correct? Things get really dicey if A instead read "than that in". So the answer will read: In 1979 lack of rain reduced India's rice production to about 41 million tons, nearly 25 percent less than that (= India's rice production ) in the 1978 harvest. Looks correct to me. As for B, is it okay to read the "harvest" in "nearly 25 percent less than the 1978 harvest" as "rice production"? Doing so convinces me that B is the correct answer. Sincerely Yours, Donny

Seems fine Shivangi. A similar officially correct sentence: Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last.... This seems fine too. I don't necessarily agree that this version is more clear than the first one.

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Comparison Paradoxy

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Shivangisharmaa

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05 Feb 2022, 00:39

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There are nearly 3 million fewer jobs now than before the pandemic.

In terms of logical meaning, is this sentence correct?
Wouldn't a version that mentions the compared subject/verb again be more clear?

Eg- There are nearly 3 million fewer jobs now than (there) were before the pandemic.

Pls help

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06 Feb 2022, 06:44

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Shivangisharmaa

There are nearly 3 million fewer jobs now than before the pandemic.

In terms of logical meaning, is this sentence correct?

Seems fine Shivangi. A similar officially correct sentence:

Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last....

Quote:

Wouldn't a version that mentions the compared subject/verb again be more clear?

Eg- There are nearly 3 million fewer jobs now than (there) were before the pandemic.

This seems fine too. I don't necessarily agree that this version is more clear than the first one.

waytowharton

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03 May 2022, 12:53

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Hey experts

KarishmaB DmitryFarber AjiteshArun ExpertsGlobal5 GMATNinja
GMATNinjaTwo
mikemcgarry

Could you help me understand difference in meaning in sentence 1 and 2?

1. Less popular in the latter part of her career than she HAD BEEN in the initial years, Elizabeth Taylor was born in a northwestern suburb of London and went on to become one of the most famous film stars.

2. Less popular in the latter part of her career than in the initial years, Elizabeth Taylor was born in a northwestern suburb of London and went on to become one of the most famous film stars.

Additionally, which one would be correct? Thanks in advance!

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KarishmaB

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05 May 2022, 21:57

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waytowharton

There are many different ways in which we can write what we want to say. There is no one correct way. That is why we insist on comparing options in a given GMAT question. Also, there are things and structures that GMAT prefers even though others are commonly used and accepted. So learning 'grammar,' though useful, wouldn't help you arrive at the correct answer some times. What may look acceptable to another may not look acceptable to me and vice versa. Hence, once you know some basic rules, it makes sense to focus on the official GMAT questions to figure out what GMAT likes.

As for these two - option 2 is better.

Less popular in the latter part of her career than in the initial years (of her career), ET was born in ...
The comparison is parallel and clean.

The following would have been ok too:
She was less popular in the latter part of her career than she had been in the initial years.

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05 May 2022, 23:51

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waytowharton

Could you help me understand difference in meaning in sentence 1 and 2?

1. Less popular in the latter part of her career than she HAD BEEN in the initial years, Elizabeth Taylor was born in a northwestern suburb of London and went on to become one of the most famous film stars.

2. Less popular in the latter part of her career than in the initial years, Elizabeth Taylor was born in a northwestern suburb of London and went on to become one of the most famous film stars.

Curious to know what the source of this question is?

Seems to be inspired by the following official sentence:

Less successful after she emigrated to New York than she had been in her native Germany, photographer Lotte Jacobi nevertheless earned a small group of discerning admirers, and her photographs were eventually exhibited in prestigious galleries across the United States.

PriyamRathor

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18 Nov 2022, 10:46

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Hello Experts ,

RonTargetTestPrep KarishmaB AnthonyRitz DmitryFarber

I am really confused on when to use that/those to refer back to a noun in comparison questions.

OG Question 1 :-

LINK - https://gmatclub.com/forum/prices-at-the-producer-level-are-only-1-3-percent-higher-now-than-a-206127.html

Quote:

Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.

(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised

(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising

(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising

(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise

(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising

OA is B .

There are two differences between A and B

Difference 1 - than a year ago vs than those of a year ago
Difference 2 - therefore raised vs therefore raising.

I agree on the point that " therefore raised is wrong"

Considering if we had therefore raising in both A and B , then which option would have been correct ?

Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago ( Here prices in current year and prices in a year ago are compared)

Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than those of a year ago ( Here also prices in current year and prices in a year ago are compared)

OG Question 2 :-

LINK- https://gmatclub.com/forum/most-of-the-country-s-biggest-daily-newspapers-had-lower-circulation-242378.html

Quote:

Most of the country’s biggest daily newspapers had lower circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than a similar period a year earlier.

(A) a similar period

(B) a similar period’s

(C) in a similar period

(D) that in a similar period

(E) that of a similar period

OA is C

Here why option D is wrong ?

We have same type of comparison as we have in OG Question 1 above ie Circulation in six months from Oct 1995 -March 1996 is compared with circulation in six months from Oct 1994- March 1995

Option C - circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than in a similar period a year earlier.
Option D - circulation in the six months from October 1995 through March 1996 than that in a similar period a year earlier.

If we replace that - the noun it refers back to is CIRCULATION ( which is logical )

Why usage of THAT in OG question 2 is wrong ?

Thanks

PS : Experts please explain when to use THAT/THOSE to refer back to a noun in COMPARISON questions and when not to. Is there any rule ?

KarishmaB

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19 Nov 2022, 00:40

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PriyamRathor

Hello Experts ,

RonTargetTestPrep KarishmaB AnthonyRitz DmitryFarber

I am really confused on when to use that/those to refer back to a noun in comparison questions.

OG Question 1 :-

LINK - https://gmatclub.com/forum/prices-at-the-producer-level-are-only-1-3-percent-higher-now-than-a-206127.html

Quote:

It depends on the sentence.

Sentence 1:

Prices are 30% higher now than those of a year ago. - Correct
those stands for 'prices.'

Prices are 30% higher now than a year ago. - Usually Acceptable though 'those' is better since it shows that the comparison is between 'prices'. We don't have a preposition here (the way we have 'in' in sentence 2) before the time marker and hence, it is cleaner to use 'those.'

Sentence 2:

A had lower circulation in the last six months than in a similar period a year earlier. - Correct

A had lower circulation in the last six months than that in a similar period a year earlier. - Incorrect
What does 'that' stand for here? It stands for 'lower circulation.' We are talking about 'lower circulation' only, not about 'circulation.'

Circulation has been lower in the last six months than that in a similar period a year earlier - Correct
Circulation has been lower in the last six months than in a similar period a year earlier - Again, correct

PriyamRathor

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19 Nov 2022, 01:08

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Hello KarishmaB ,

Thank you for your reply.

My doubt of QUESTION 1 is clear , but i am still not clear about QUESTION 2

Quote:

A had lower circulation in the last six months than that in a similar period a year earlier. - Incorrect
What does 'that' stand for here? It stands for 'lower circulation.' We are talking about 'lower circulation' only, not about 'circulation.'

According to me , when that/those act as pronouns they refer back to ONLY NOUNS ie without their modifiers , whereas when it/she/he/they act as pronouns they refer back to NOUNS with their modifiers

Consequently, that in QUESTION 2 refers back to only CIRCULATION not LOWER CIRCUALTION.

So now when we replace that in OPTION D , it reads:-

A had lower circulation in the last six months than ~~that~~ circulation in a similar period a year earlier.
I feel it's right , Is it ?

Thanks

KarishmaB

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19 Nov 2022, 23:33

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PriyamRathor

Hello KarishmaB ,

Thank you for your reply.

My doubt of QUESTION 1 is clear , but i am still not clear about QUESTION 2

According to me , when that/those act as pronouns they refer back to ONLY NOUNS ie without their modifiers , whereas when it/she/he/they act as pronouns they refer back to NOUNS with their modifiers

Consequently, that in QUESTION 2 refers back to only CIRCULATION not LOWER CIRCUALTION.

So now when we replace that in OPTION D , it reads:-

A had lower circulation in the last six months than ~~that~~ circulation in a similar period a year earlier.
I feel it's right , Is it ?

Thanks

I am not convinced here. I would like to see the mention of plain 'circulation' before using 'that' for it in the second part of the comparison. A preceding modifier makes me think that 'that' stands for the entire thing. A modifier in the form of a prepositional phrase which is changed in the second part of the comparison is not carried forward with the use of 'that,' I agree.

Since we have an option that takes care of this issue by skipping the mention of 'that' and still clarifies that we are comparing circulations in the two time periods, I would much rather use it.

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