Just as William Shakespeare was the preeminent poet of England, so

OPTION A

The correct option uses the correct idiom "Just as X ... so Y
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Just as X so Y but can anyone explain why C is incorrect

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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-



Choice A: This answer choice utilizes proper conjunction and idioms, is concise, and conveys the intended meaning of the sentence. Thus, this answer choice is correct.

Choice B: This answer choice uses "like", rather than "as", to compare the clauses "William Shakespeare was..." and "Robert Frost was...". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice C: This answer choice displays ambiguity of meaning; by omitting the "Just as X...so Y" construction, this answer choice creates a sentence that can be interpreted to mean that Shakespeare's status as the preeminent poet of England is the reason why Frost was the preeminent poet of the United States. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice D: This answer choice fails to apply the appropriate idiom form "Just as...X...so Y" by omitting the word "so" before "Robert Frost...". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice E: This answer choice is rather wordy due to the use of the phrase "in the same manner", as this phrase is not the most efficient way of expressing congruence between the statuses of Shakespeare and Frost. Thus, this answer choice is not a good one.

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):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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Just as William Shakespeare was the preeminent poet of England, so Robert Frost was the preeminent poet of the United States.


AS vs LIKE: When comparing- correct usage is AS+clause and LIKE+noun.

Here we are comparing the clause (William Shakespeare was), so AS should be used and not LIKE.

Also the correct idiom is JUST AS X . . . SO Y

(A) Just as William Shakespeare was the preeminent poet of England, so Robert Frost
Correct usage of as and idiom. So A is the correct answer.

(B) Just like William Shakespeare was the preeminent poet of England, so Robert Frost
Uses like to compare clause so incorrect.

(C) As William Shakespeare was the preeminent poet of England, Robert Frost
Incorrect idiomatic usage.

(D) Just as England’s preeminent poet was William Shakespeare, Robert Frost
Incorrect idiomatic usage.

(E) As William Shakespeare was the preeminent poet of England, in the same manner Robert Frost
Incorrect idiomatic usage.

Why C is incorrect ?

Any explanation apart from Idiom mistake.

Hello, Harsh2111s. I will bite on this one, since ambiguity of meaning is one of my favorite topics. In addition to the alternative reading of as that ExpertsGlobal5 provided above, namely that you could interpret the word as an explanatory because, you could also interpret it as a temporal cue, one expressing concurrent action, namely that at the time Shakespeare was the preeminent poet of England, Robert Frost was the preeminent poet of the U.S. Notwithstanding their lasting fame, the poet known as Shakespeare lived in the 1500s and early 1600s, while Frost lived much more recently, in the 1800s to the mid-1900s. This adds another silly interpretation to the mix, and I am all about looking for fun when it comes to the GMAT™.

- Andrew
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C is incorrect because both the sentences are INDEPENDENT .We need FANBOYS to connect independent sentences ALWAYS .
F- for
A- and
N - nor
B - but
O -or
Y -yet
S - so .

Hope this helps

I agree, gmatway, about connecting independent clauses with one of the FANBOYS conjunctions. In the sentence at hand, though, choice (C),

As William Shakespeare was the preeminent poet of England

is not an independent clause. We could not put a period at the end of it, and the sentence as a whole becomes a complex sentence instead. As, because, when, and so on are all used at the head of dependent clauses. If you removed the first word of choice (C), the clause would indeed become independent. I point this out not because I want to be a jerk, but because I think it would best serve the community to appreciate the difference between a dependent and an independent clause.

- Andrew
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Harsh2111s

The option is wrong because , The intended meaning is comparison between famous poets from two different regions , but this option says , prominence of Robert is linked to prominence of Shakespeare.

Sadly, all these meaning interpretations come back to what the official explanation cited--idiom. When we have that very old-fashioned construction--"Just as X, so Y"--in place, we know what the intended meaning is. Without those cues, it's harder to tell what C is trying to say, although we could argue that the actual meaning is just as valid an interpretation as the odder ones.

One thing that might help is to recognize that "so" here is NOT serving in its usual FANBOYS role to show a result, as in "He wouldn't give me a cookie, so I stole one when he wasn't looking." Rather it is partnering with "just as" to mean "it's the same thing here, too." "Just as X is the case over here, so it is over there." It's the version of "so" we encounter when someone says "Do so" or "That just isn't so."
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I agree, DmitryFarber, that idiom is one way in which a test-taker could interpret the intended meaning and arrive at the correct conclusion, but for someone who had not studied the Just as... so [too] construct, there should still be some way to arrive at the correct conclusion, and whether such a person understands the idiom or not, ambiguity of meaning can provide that outlet. Thus, grammatically speaking, no one can really argue against idiom being the reason behind the elimination of certain answer choices--a fact that I do not find sad at all--but in terms of a clear-cut meaning, with a less refined approach, I would say that there exists an alternative. I can see the benefit to test-takers to practice either approach, reading for grammar or reading for meaning. (No human thinks of language in strictly grammatical terms. That is not the way the brain is wired.)

- Andrew
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A lot of people are saying that “just as X, so Y" is the correct idiom. However, "just as X, Y" is also correct!


Now, let's look at a real GMAT PREP question.

Despite the growing number of people who purchase plane tickets online, airline executives are convinced that, just as one-third of bank customers still prefer human tellers to automatic teller machine, many travelers will still use travel agents.

Notice that there is no "so" in the sentence, and this is still a correct sentence! Therefore, "just so X, Y" is acceptable as well


But why are we using "so" in this problem? -->

Choice D: Just as England’s preeminent poet was William Shakespeare, Robert Frost was the preeminent poet of the United States.

Notice that in D, "England's preeminent poet" is compared with "Robert Frost", but they are totally different things. That is why D is wrong.

Choice A: Just as William Shakespeare was the preeminent poet of England, so Robert Frost was the preeminent poet of the United States.

Notice that in A, we are comparing "William Shakespeare" and "Robert Frost". And the "just as X, so Y" being used here makes sense.


If any expert could further explain the usage of "just as", that would be perfect. And welcome any discussion on this topic as well!



used here ma
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