In Turkey, coffee is traditionally drunk very strong, much

Before we get down to business, let us remember that when we compare a person with another person, the comparison is straight and does not require an action verb. Such comparisons involve the use of the basic verb ‘be’ or its derivatives such as ‘is, am, are etc;’
e.g: She is obese like her mother; the verb ‘is’ is the third person singular form of ‘be’ and the sentence compares she with her mother.

On the contrary, when we compare an action, as indicated by a working verb of the first arm of the comparison, then the second arm also will have to be represented by an action verb in order to complete the comparison parallelly.

E.G: He sings like his brother; here the comparison is between the way he sings with the way his brother sings. So we have to add the verb sings or an equivalent one to the way of his brother . But ‘like his brother sings’ is grammatically wrong. So we have to say that he sings as his brother does. (does means sings)

In the light of the above norms, let us look at each choice.


Nobody knows GMAT like we do ---- wrong…. Like we do is a clause and can not follow ‘like’
Nobody knows GMAT like us ……compares GMAT with us --- wrong
Nobody knows GMAT like we ….. compares GMAT with we --- wrong
Nobody knows GMAT as we do …. Knows is action verb; hence we need an action verb for 'we' also. The correct choice.
Nobody knows GMAT as we …….. compares GMAT with we and the sentence is incomplete
Nobody knows GMAT as us ……… compares GMAT with us --- wrong
Nobody knows GMAT as we are …….. Irrelevant compares knowing with our being.

Nobody knows the baby better than the mother and Johnson & Johnson …… the second arm needs an appropriate verb to match the verb ‘knows’ in the first part. Because this is a comparison about knowledge between two sets.


Nobody knows the baby better than the mother and Johnson & Johnson know…. Grammatically correct but somewhat inferior to another choice because of the redundancy of ‘know’


Nobody knows the baby better than he knows the mother and Johnson & Johnson … wrong The sentence compares baby with the mother and a company …

Nobody knows the baby better than he does the mother and Johnson & Johnson wrong comparison … wrong; comparing baby with the mother and a company

Nobody knows the baby better than ‘does' the mother and Johnson & Johnson’ … SV -agreement problem

Nobody knows the baby better than do the mother and Johnson & Johnson……. correct choice with action verbs on both sides. The verb ‘do’ is better than ‘know’ because of avoiding redundancy

He is bold like his brother ….. perfect
He is bold as his brother …… incomplete
He is bold like his brother is …. Grammatically wrong


He sings like his brother ….. Needs action verb for second arm
He sings like his brother does … wrong … like is followed by a clause.
He sings as his brother does ….. perfect

He is tall like his brother is but jumps higher than his brother jumps……… first portion compares person with person and so no need for the verb ‘js’for the brother; The second part compares an action of jumping. So you require a verb for the brother. Jumps is however repetitive. Not a good choice.

He is tall like his brother but jumps higher than his brother… wrong; we do need a verb for his brother’s jumping in the second part. Otherwise jumping gets compared with his brother.

He is tall like ‘his brother is’ but jumps higher than does his brother …like his brother is wrong

He is tall like his brother but jumps higher than does his brother … perfect choice; no action verb in the first part. Action verb ‘does’ in the second arm is better than ‘jumps’.


He is tall like ‘his brother is’ but jumps higher than his brother….’like his brother is’ wrong

i would like people to add more on this.
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Now on this usage of ‘as’ vs. ‘like’ in comparisons, here is a basic exercise for those who wish. Can you pick the right sentences and explain why others are wrong? Answers can come via PM also.

Nobody knows GMAT like we do
Nobody knows GMAT like us
Nobody knows GMAT like we
Nobody knows GMAT as we do
Nobody knows GMAT as we
Nobody knows GMAT as us
Nobody knows GMAT as we are

Nobody knows the baby better than the mother and Johnson & Johnson
Nobody knows the baby better than the mother and Johnson & Johnson know
Nobody knows the baby better than he knows the mother and Johnson & Johnson
Nobody knows the baby better than he does the mother and Johnson & Johnson
Nobody knows the baby better than does the mother and Johnson & Johnson
Nobody knows the baby better than do the mother and Johnson & Johnson

He is bold like his brother
He is bold as his brother
He is bold like his brother is

He sings like his brother
He sings like his brother does
He sings as his brother does

He is tall like his brother is but jumps higher than his brother jumps
He is tall like his brother but jumps higher than his brother
He is tall like his brother is but jumps higher than does his brother
He is tall like his brother but jumps higher than does his brother
He is tall like his brother is but jumps higher than his brother
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Limiting to just D and E, the clue is simple. The phrase ‘it is in France’ is a clause with an action verb and hence can’t follow the preposition ‘like’. E is grammatically flawed; D is the answer

Is it a Kaplan CAT topic? Am Surprised!
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hi,

here's my ans:
1. Nobody knows GMAT as we do
2. Nobody knows the baby better than the mother and Johnson & Johnson
3. He is bold like his brother
4. He sings like his brother
5. He is tall like his brother but jumps higher than his brother

let me know how did i fair..

let us wait for a few more responses
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1. Nobody knows GMAT as we do
2. Nobody knows the baby better than the mother and Johnson & Johnson know
3. He is bold like his brother is
4. He sings as his brother does
5. He is tall like his brother is but jumps higher than his brother jumps

@daagh - Thanks for the very detailed explanation. I think I get this now.

Superb.. should be included in one of the "sticky" documents..
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In Turkey, coffee is traditionally drunk very strong, just as coffee is (traditionally drunk very strong) in France.

it = coffee

I am no expert, but I would like to tackle this problem as if I were to explain it to someone, please correct if I am wrong.

In Turkey, coffee is traditionally drunk very strong, much as the French do .

A) much as the French do
B) much like the French do
C) much as it is by the French
D) much as it is in France
E) much like it is in France

I like to re-arrange the sentence here so it is more clear:

Coffee is traditionally drunk very strong in Turkey, much as/like (coffee is drunk) in France
So, A, B, and C are out because they use "French". We are comparing how one country does one thing to another country and not a country to another country's citizens.

Between D and E
"Like" would not work here because you are not comparing nouns. In non-jargon terms, you would use like if you said, "Like Mary, Mark ....." or in using this sentence, like would work if we said: Much like the French, the Turks traditionally drink their coffee strong.

So, we must use "much as" since we are comparing an action or a method (how coffee is drunk in one country to another country)