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605-655 Level|   Comparisons|   Comparisons|         
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 25 Feb 2019, 01:01
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‘like’ compares nouns, but in A the Earth’s rotation is being compared to a spinning figure skater. In B the rotation is being compared to increased speed. So both of these are wrong. C has the same problem as A. D is wrong because ‘as’ is not used to compare nouns. So, I am going to say that E is the correct answer.
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 22 Sep 2019, 04:59
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in.


(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in

(B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in

(C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in

(D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms

(E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms


SC30561.01

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1:05 , E is my ans.

Here like is used as a conjunction. This is not preferred/correct usage of like.
I have copied this from a website :

Here is the rule:

Always use "like" as a preposition, never as a subordinating conjunction.

Historically, "like" has often been used as a subordinating conjunction, but in formal modern usage it is considered a definite no-no. The use of "like" as a conjunction had pretty nearly disappeared among the educated public, until a famous cigarette ad declared, "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should!"
The media have so popularized this once forbidden usage that one now hears it (and reads it) almost everywhere. But although it has become generally accepted in colloquial speech and informal writing, it is still considered questionable in formal writing. Anyone who wishes to be taken seriously as a writer needs to be very careful about unnecessarily violating this particular shibboleth, because it is seen by most teachers and editors not only as an error, but as another one of those really big errors.


Here are some examples of "like" used as a subordinating conjunction, along with corrected versions of the sentences.


EXAMPLES:


~My face felt like it had been set on fire.
My face felt as if it had been set on fire.
My face felt as though it had been set on fire.

~In college the teachers don't spoonfeed you the material like the teachers in high school do.
In college the teachers don't spoonfeed you the material, as the teachers in high school do
In college the teachers don't spoonfeed you the material the way the teachers in high school do.

~When I was a freshman I studied like my life depended on it.
When I was a freshman I studied as if my life depended on it.
When I was a freshman I studied as though my life depended on it.

~Some people with only a modest income try to live like they were millionaires.
Some people with only a modest income try to live as if they were millionaires.
Some people with only a modest income try to live as though they were millionaires.

The same goes for using "like" as a conjunction. It has a respectable history of being used as a conjunction, and it is commonly used that way in informal speech and writing today. But it is not commonly used that way in the formal writing of educated people, and so I will not risk my reputation for it. The fact is, it is quite simple to avoid using "like" as a conjunction, just as it is to avoid comma splices.


HTH
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Official Explanation

Logical predication; Parallelism

Each of the incorrect answer choices makes a faulty comparison.

A. Grammatically, the comparison here is between the buildup of ice . . . and the drop in water levels . . . on one hand and a spinning figure skater on the other. However, the appropriate comparison would be either between the figure skater and earth, or between the skater's rotation and the earth's rotation.

B. Grammatically, the comparison here is between the buildup of ice . . . and the drop in water levels . . . on one hand and the increased speed of a figure skater on the other. However, the appropriate comparison would be between the increased speed of earth's rotation and the increased speed of a figure skater. Furthermore, note that this answer choice nowhere suggests that the skater is spinning.

C. Grammatically, as in choice A, the comparison here is between the buildup of ice . . . and the drop in water levels . . . on one hand and a spinning figure skater on the other. However, the appropriate comparison would be either between the figure skater and earth, or between the skater's rotation and earth's rotation.

D. When just as is used to mean in the same way as, it must link two independent clauses. The clause beginning who increases speed . . . is a dependent clause.

E. Correct. In this version just as is appropriately used to create a comparison between the way the buildup of ice at the poles, along with the drop in water levels at the equator, increases the speed of earth's rotation and the way a figure skater increases the speed of her spin by drawing in her arms

The correct answer is E.
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 22 Sep 2019, 09:28
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+1 E

During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in.

Note: Beautiful Comparison question, Lets dig into it

Non underline part is basically showing action of buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator

Similarly we need action in the Underline Part

(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in

Action is being compared to spinning figure skater

(B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in

Action is being compared to Increased Speed of a figure skater

(C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in

Action is being compared to a figure skater

(D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms

Action is being compared to a spinning figure skater

(E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms

Perfect , Actiojn is being compared to Action
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 26 Dec 2019, 16:11
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Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one thing at a time, and narrow down our options quickly so we know how to answer questions like this when they pop up on the GMAT! To begin, let's take a quick look at the question and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator speed up the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in.

(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in
(B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in
(C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in
(D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms
(E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms

After a quick glance over the options, there are a few things we can focus on to narrow down our choices:

1. like / as
2. whose speed increases / increased speed / who increases speed / increases speed
3. her arms are drawn in / her arms drawn in / drawing in her arms

Since #1 is an "either/or" split, let's start there. No matter which one we choose, we'll eliminate either 2 or 3 options rather quickly. There is a difference between how you use like vs. as:

Like = used as a preposition
As = used as a subordinating conjunction

Since we're looking for a word that joins two clauses together, we need to use a subordinating conjunction. Let's see how our options stack up:

(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in
(B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in
(C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in
(D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms
(E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms

There you go - you can eliminate options A, B, & C because they use the preposition "like" instead of the conjunction "as" to join two clauses.

Now that we're only down to 2 options, let's see what differences we can find and explore those:


(D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms

This option is INCORRECT because the clause after "as" MUST be an independent clause - and this one is missing a verb!

(E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms

This option is CORRECT because the clause after "as" is an independent clause, which is what we need when using conjunctions!


There you have it - option E is the correct choice! By focusing first on the "either/or" split, we eliminated several options that would have made this question much harder to solve quickly!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 11 Apr 2020, 20:00
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this is old question from og.
like is used to say that two things do the same action
as is used to say two actions are done in the same way.
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 11 Apr 2020, 20:08
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TommyWallach's explanation is really useful. Thanks for the help!
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 09 Jul 2020, 16:05
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Comparing Actions use 'as'
comparing nouns use 'like'
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 18 Jul 2020, 22:43
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Sentence Analysis



The sentence talks about what happens during an ice age. Two things (the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator) speed up the earth’s rotation. The sentence then introduces a comparison/similarity. The sentence seems to present a similarity between how these two things speed up the earth’s rotation and how a skater increases her speed by drawing her arms in.

The sentence is incorrect for the following reasons:

1. The comparison is not presented in the right way. The way the sentence is written, “a spinning figure” is compared with the compound subject “the buildup of ice and the drop in water levels”, leading to a meaning that a spinning figure also speeds up the Earth’s rotation. Very interesting! But not logical! (Please note that many people, even some experts, believe that “a spinning figure” is being compared with “Earth’s rotation” here. However, this understanding is wrong. “Comma+like” at the end of a clause always goes back to the subject of the clause when “like” is used to present a comparison. The official explanation for this question also supports our understanding.)

2.The sentence also has a quite significant quality issue. The passive structure used in “a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in” indicates that the skater doesn’t increase her speed or draws her arms in. It seems some other entity draws her arms in, and as a result, her speed increases. A much more sensible way to write this idea would be: a spinning figure skater who increases her speed by drawing her arms in.

Option Analysis

A. like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in
Incorrect. For the reasons mentioned above.

B. like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in
Incorrect. Both the issues mentioned in the original sentences are present in this option, albeit in slightly different ways. Besides, funnily, we don’t even know from this option whether the skater is spinning or not!

C. like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in
Incorrect. For the following reasons:

    1. The first error of the original sentence.

    2. “With her arms drawn in” seems to modify “spinning”, not “increases”. Thus, the option means that the skater increases speed while spinning in a particular way. However, how does she increase speed? We don’t know. This seems logically much inferior to an option that tells us how she increases speed..

D. just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms
Incorrect. Here, “as” is followed by a noun (skater), which is followed by a relative clause modifier. “As” followed by a noun is not used to present a comparison. To present a comparison, “as” needs to be followed by a clause or a prepositional phrase (in case subject and verb are elided).

E. just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms
Correct.
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 22 Aug 2020, 06:11
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But if we see in (A), we a spinning figure skater, where spinning is just a participle and still the entire word is "spinning figure skater" with like modifying figure skater?
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 22 Aug 2020, 06:58
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lakshya14
But if we see in (A), we a spinning figure skater, where spinning is just a participle and still the entire word is "spinning figure skater" with like modifying figure skater?
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Hi lakshya14
To eliminate A, it's better if you understand the logic.
If you see option A, what are we comparing exactly ?
the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in water levels near the equator- an action
compared to
a spinning figure skater- a noun

Now this comparison is illogical, hence this option is wrong.
You can compare noun with noun, and verb with verb.

Hope this helps :)
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 22 Aug 2020, 16:41
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lakshya14
But if we see in (A), we a spinning figure skater, where spinning is just a participle and still the entire word is "spinning figure skater" with like modifying figure skater?
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@lakshya14-

I highly recommend in sentences such as this you look to the meaning to understand what is logically trying to be expressed instead of looking to the grammar.

In option A we see that the process that speeds up the Earth's rotation is the build-up of ice at the poles and the drop in water by the equator. This clearly a process that happens and this process speeds up the earth's rotation. This process is being compared to a noun entity "spinning figure skater." We cannot compare a process to an entity. We have to compare apples to apples.

Therefore the logical intended comparison is to compare the process that speeds up the Eart's rotation to the process that speeds up the spinning figure skater.

The correct answer E makes this comparison in a grammatically correct manner!

I hope this helps!
Cheers!
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 11 Dec 2020, 00:17
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Just As ...So -- Isn't it the proper idiom?
Can we use just as in isolation?
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 31 Dec 2020, 09:09
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ArupSR
Just As ...So -- Isn't it the proper idiom?
Can we use just as in isolation?
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Hello ArupSR,

Wish you a very Happy 2021. :-)

I am not sure if you still have this question. Here is my response nonetheless.

Both expressions just as X s Y and as can be used to present comparison. In fact, using just as in comparison questions is a very common practice in SC problems.


Hope this helps. :-)
Thanks.
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 04 May 2021, 09:12
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Hi experts,

A quick question regarding the placement of "like a spinning figure skater [...]" Does it matter where this goes?

In A, B, and C, it's placed at the end of the sentence but would there be any difference if it was in the beginning of the sentence? And more broadly, is there ever a material difference between putting "like X" / "as X does" in the beginning and "like X" / "as X does" at the end? Or would this just be a red herring?
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 20 Jan 2022, 09:25
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Hi GMATGuruNY IanStewart AjiteshArun MartyTargetTestPrep - want to first understand a fundamental concept undelying this SC question
(in relation to option A / B and C)

Analogy -

a) Sam likes Toronto, like New York City

Is this a fair comparison ? I thought it was fair becuse Toronto = NYC are cities and comparable obviously.
OR
is above sentence wrong because based on the construction, New York City is being forecfully compared to subject noun, Sam ?

a) Sam likes Toronto, like John

Please confirm but i believe this is a fair comparison because this is saying -- Sam and John both like Toronto
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 21 Jan 2022, 05:10
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jabhatta2
Hi GMATGuruNY IanStewart AjiteshArun MartyTargetTestPrep - want to first understand a fundamental concept undelying this SC question
(in relation to option A / B and C)

Analogy -

a) Sam likes Toronto, like New York City

Is this a fair comparison ? I thought it was fair becuse Toronto = NYC are cities and comparable obviously.
OR
is above sentence wrong because based on the construction, New York City is being forecfully compared to subject noun, Sam ?

a) Sam likes Toronto, like John

Please confirm but i believe this is a fair comparison because this is saying -- Sam and John both like Toronto
Show more

Hello jabhatta2,

We hope this finds you well.

Having gone through the question and your query, we believe we can resolve your doubt.

Neither of these analogy sentences is correct.

Both compare the action of liking Toronto to a noun; the second could be made correct if it was written as "Like John, Sam likes Toronto."; now, "Like" compares "John" and "Sam".

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



All the best!
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 21 Dec 2022, 10:29
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During an ice age ( Prepositional Phrase modifying the main verb), the buildup of ice at the poles ( first subject) and the drop in water levels near the equator ( second subject) speed up ( main verb) the Earth’s rotation, like a spinning figure skater ( like comparison structure-noun) whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in ( DC clause )


(A) like a spinning figure skater whose speed increases when her arms are drawn in ( Like the comparison is wrong here. We are comparing actions here )

(B) like the increased speed of a figure skater when her arms are drawn in ( the comparison is wrong, also the construction is not able to portray the intended meaning )

(C) like a figure skater who increases speed while spinning with her arms drawn in ( same issue as option A )

(D) just as a spinning figure skater who increases speed by drawing in her arms ( we should compare two actions, not a noun and an action)

(E) just as a spinning figure skater increases speed by drawing in her arms ( Correct)
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During an ice age, the buildup of ice at the poles and the drop in wat 09 Jul 2025, 06:51
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Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

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