Even as they never forgave the Crusaders who overran their homeland

A. C is wrong because "just like" is never correct to compare the clauses...

hi daagh,
correct me if i am wrong in C 'like' is followed by a pronoun and just like is also idiomatic. Please advise.

Ajit:You are just looking at the word that is next to ‘like’. If the clause just stops with ‘they’ alone, we can say ‘like’ is followed by a pronoun. But “like they never forgave” is a full fledged subordinate clause; In order to say that like is followed by a noun or noun phrase, the phrase should be as : Like they, like them, like their not forgiving, etc.,

In such cases, the main clause also will take corresponding amendments, wherever required.

Examples:
Just like romance, action is a genre
Just like swimming, fencing was his passion

Ans is A

traditionally like is a preposition and as is a conjunction
When to Use Like, When to Use As

The proper way to differentiate between like and as is to use like when no verb follows (2). For example, Squiggly throws like a raccoon or It acted just like my computer. Notice that when I use like, the words that come after are generally simple. A raccoon and my computer are the objects of the preposition.

If the clause that comes next includes a verb, then you should use as. For example, Squiggly throws as if he were a raccoon or It acted just as I would expect my computer to behave. Notice that when I use as, the words that come after tend to be more complex.

You generally hear like used in everyday speech, so that helps me remember that like is the simpler word—or at least it is followed by simpler words. As sounds stuffier and is followed by a more complex clause that contains a verb.

D and E are obviously out, E carries the exact opposite meaning and D is too awkward. C is out because it is using ‘like’ to compare non-nouns. B also changes the meaning, it draws a contrast between the Syrians treatment of the Crusaders and the French, where there is none. The answer is A.

VeritasKarishma GMATNinja

Can anyone please explain me in detail why is option B wrong?

"while" shows contrast, the way "although" does.
While I don't like ..., I do like ...

Here, we have no contrast to show.
If they were forgiving some and not forgiving others, we could have used while.
Hence (B) is not correct.

"If they were forgiving some and not forgiving others, we could have used while. " But isn't this exactly what the Syrians were doing? They never forgave the Crusaders, but they absolved the French?

What's wrong with E? Why not use "In spite of" or "Despite"?

What is the difference between 'Even as' and 'as'? I arrived at A by process of elimination. However, I feel that 'Even As' is not conveying proper comparison. I thought it should be 'As they never forgave...'. Isn't 'Even as' show contrast? In a sentence construction 'Even as X, Y', I would expect X and Y to contrast with each other.

Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.