Laos has a land area about the same as Great Britain but only four mil

Shall we look at it from a different angle?
A uses a wrong relative pronoun ‘where’ to modify population – reject
B, C, D compare land area with size, rather than another area. Reject all of them in single stroke.
E is left. E compares land area to another land area with the expression ‘that of’ – right choice
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This is one of those classic GMAT comparison questions that forces you to be mind-numbingly literal about what, exactly, is being compared. We also covered this in our YouTube webinar on comparisons, so head here if you prefer your explanations in video form.


Literally, (A) is saying that the land area of Laos is the same as the country of Great Britain itself. That’s not cool.

Plus, the modifier beginning with “where” doesn’t make sense: “… four million in population, where many are members of a hill tribe…” Huh? “Where” needs to modify a location of some sort, and the population of Laos isn’t a place. (A) is out.


It’s harder to pin down exactly why the comparison in (B) is logically wrong, but it’s clearly a mess. It’s comparing the land area of Laos to the size of Great Britain, and that’s not totally crazy… but then what the heck is “is” doing there? I guess I could live with something like “Laos is the same size as Great Britain is”, because we’d be comparing two verb phrases. But “Laos has a land area of about the same size as Great Britain is”? I can’t make sense of that.

Plus, the last part of the underlined portion isn’t great. What is “many” referring to, exactly? There’s no actual mention of people here – and I’m really not sure that “many” can operate by itself as a pronoun, anyway.

If you wanted to be really, really conservative, you could hang onto (B) for a moment, but we’ll have better options in a moment.


The first part of the comparison isn’t illogical, but it’s wordy AF: “Laos has a land area that is about the same size as Great Britain’s land area.” Really, is that necessary? It’s not WRONG, and I wouldn’t eliminate it right away. But the version in (E) is much more succinct.

Here’s (arguably) the bigger problem: the second part of the underlined portion gently warps the meaning of the sentence. The “but” indicates some sort of contrast, but the contrast doesn’t make a ton of sense in (C). The sentence is trying to say that Laos is the same size as Great Britain, BUT that Laos has a much smaller population; the fact that much of the population lives in hill tribes is just extra, incidental information.

But if we strip down (C), the contrast surrounding the “but” doesn’t really work. I’ll strip out some stuff for clarity, and we’re left with something like this: “Laos… is about the same size as Great Britain…, but in Laos [modifier blah blah] many of them are members of hill tribes…” Nope, that’s not the part that deserves a “but.”

For that reason, (C) is out.


Again, the comparison isn’t ideal: we’re comparing the “land area” of Laos to the “size of Great Britain.” That’s not great, especially when we compare it with (E). Plus, we still have that funny problem with the word “many.” It’s trying to act like a pronoun, and I’m not sure that “many” can stand alone as a pronoun – and “people” aren’t even mentioned here, so it’s not clear what “many” would refer to, exactly.

(D) doesn’t look great, so I hope we like (E).



Yup, I think (E) is OK. “That” refers to “land area”, and that’s perfect: “Laos has a land area comparable to the land area of Great Britain…” Makes sense. The “but” makes sense now, too: we’re contrasting the fact that Laos is as large as Great Britain with the fact that the population is tiny. And now it’s clear whom we’re talking about: “… four million people, many of whom are members…” Cool, now we know that “many of whom” refers back to people in Laos.

So (E) is the best we can do.
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Hello Everyone!

This is a great example question you might find on the GMAT exam! Let's start by taking a quick look at the question, and highlight any major differences between the options in orange:

Laos has a land area about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain valleys of the north.

(A) about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many
(B) of about the same size as Great Britain is, but in Laos there is a population of only four million, and many
(C) that is about the same size as Great Britain's land area, but in Laos with a population of only four million people, many of them
(D) comparable to the size of Great Britain, but only four million in population, and many
(E) comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people, many of whom

While it looks like there is a lot here that's different about each option, there are some things we can focus on to eliminate wrong options:

1. about the same / about the same size / comparable to the size / comparable to that
2. in population / a population
3. where many / and many / many of them / many of whom

Let's start with #1 on our list. If we look carefully, this has to do with parallelism! We need to make sure each sentence is comparing two items that are parallel in structure, type, number, wording, etc. Here is how each sentence handles the comparison between the land area of Laos and the land area of Great Britain:

(A) about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many
land area of Laos + the entire country of Great Britain = NOT PARALLEL

(B) of about the same size as Great Britain is, but in Laos there is a population of only four million, and many
land area of Laos + the size of Great Britain = NOT PARALLEL

(C) that is about the same size as Great Britain's land area, but in Laos with a population of only four million people, many of them
land area of Laos + land area of Great Britain = PARALLEL

(D) comparable to the size of Great Britain, but only four million in population, and many
land area of Laos + the size of Great Britain = NOT PARALLEL

(E) comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people, many of whom
land area of Laos + land area of Great Britain = PARALLEL

We can eliminate options A, B, and D because they do not have parallel comparisons between the land areas of both countries!

Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let's take a closer look at each and determine which is the best option. To make errors easier to catch, let's add in the non-underlined parts of the sentence:

(C) Laos has a land area that is about the same size as Great Britain's land area, but in Laos with a population of only four million people, many of them are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain valleys of the north.

This is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, there is a missing comma between "Laos" and "with" because the phrase "with a population of only four million people" was turned into a non-essential clause that needs to be surrounded by commas. Second, if we treat the phrase "with a population of only four million people" as a non-essential phrase, the pronoun "them" doesn't have a clear antecedent. Who is "them" referring to? It's not clear - and the GMAT requires that all pronouns have absolutely clear antecedents!

(E) Laos has a land area comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people, many of whom are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain valleys of the north.

This is CORRECT! It compares the land are of Laos to the land area of Great Britain using parallelism, and the modifier that begins with "many of whom" is clearly referring back to "four million people," which makes sense!

There you have it - option E is the correct choice! If you know some of the tendencies of GMAT test writers, it's a lot easier to spot frequently used grammatical errors!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
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Laos has a land area about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain valleys of the north.

A. about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many In this option, “land area” is being compared to a country. Not parallel.

B. of about the same size as Great Britain is, but in Laos there is a population of only four million, and many In this option, “land area” is being compared to size. Not parallel.

C. that is about the same size as Great Britain's land area, but in Laos with a population of only four million people, many of them In this option, “land area” is being compared to size, even if it is the size of the land area. Not parallel.

D. comparable to the size of Great Britain, but only four million in population, and many In this option, “land area” is being compared to size. Not parallel.

E. comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people, many of whom In this option, “land area” is correctly being compared to “that of” or “the size of” Great Britain. Parallel.

- Nitha Jay
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that Laos has a land area comparable to the land area of Great Britain, but it has a population of only four million people, and many of them are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain valleys of the north.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Comparison + Pronouns + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• Comparison must always be made between similar things.
• "where" is only used to refer to a physical place.

A: This answer choice incorrectly compares "land area" to "Great Britain"; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar things. Further, Option A incorrectly refers to "four million in population" with "where"; please remember, "where" is only used to refer to a physical place.

B: This answer choice incorrectly compares the noun phrase "land area" to the verb phrase "Great Britain is"; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar things. Further, Option B suffers from a pronoun error, as "many" - used as a pronoun here - lacks a clear referent. Additionally, Option B uses the needlessly wordy phrase "in Laos with a population of only four million people", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "but in Laos with a population of only four million people"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that Laos has a land area comparable to the land area of Great Britain, but it has a population of only four million people, and many of them are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain valleys of the north. Further, Option C suffers from a pronoun error, as "many" - used as a pronoun here - lacks a clear referent. Additionally, Option C uses the needlessly wordy phrase "the same size as Great Britain's land area", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D: This answer choice incorrectly compares "land area" to "the size of Great Britain"; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar things. Further, Option D suffers from a pronoun error, as "many" - used as a pronoun here - lacks a clear referent.

E: This answer choice uses the phrase "but a population of only four million people", conveying the intended meaning - that Laos has a land area comparable to the land area of Great Britain, but it has a population of only four million people, and many of them are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain valleys of the north. Further, Option E avoids the pronoun error seen in Option A, as it does not use "where". Moreover, Option E provides an appropriate referent for "many" - "people". Additionally, Option E is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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Laos has a land area about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain valleys of the north.

A. about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many The comparison is incorrect. “Land area” is being compared to “Great Britain”.

B. of about the same size as Great Britain is, but in Laos there is a population of only four million, and many The comparison is incorrect. “Land area” is being compared to “size”.

C. that is about the same size as Great Britain's land area, but in Laos with a population of only four million people, many of them The comparison is incorrect. “Land area” is being compared to “size”.

D. comparable to the size of Great Britain, but only four million in population, and many The comparison is incorrect. “Land area” is being compared to “size”.

E. comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people, many of whom The comparison is correct. “Land area of Laos” is being compared to “land area of Great Britain”. “That of” has been used to refer to “land area of”.

- Nitha Jay
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Laos has a land area about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain vallyes of the north.
D) comparable to the size of Great Britain, but only four million in population, and many
E) comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people, many of whom

IMO :
- in E, many of whom is correctly referring to a group from 'population of 4 million people',

- 'many of whom' introduces subordinate/dependent clause. which is correct/in sync with the structure.

in D
- I didn't like the comparison of land area of X to Size of Y. Opinions?
- 'and many' introduces independent clause which doesn't seem to be parallel with the structure
Country C has X but (has implicit) Y, and (has doesn't go well here) z are ...




I am confused whether "Country Y has only x million in population" is correct or not.
It seems fine to me!!
Opinions?

"Land area" can mean two different things. It can mean the acreage, i.e. the number of acres, as in One MIT study claims that, in some U.S. cities, parking lots cover more than a third of the land area. It can also mean just some territory, not its size, as in Thunderstorms are well-monitored over land areas, where radar can keep an eye on their sometimes- quick development.

B and C mention the size of the land area; thus, they assume the second interpretation above. C then proceeds to use the expression "land area" in the first sense, i.e. size. Thus, C compares the size of one land area with another land area, which seems unnecessarily complicated. Now, B is more logical, yet B changes the meaning of the sentence! We can also say that the United States has a land area of about the same size as the entire Great Britain; for example, the State of Texas would qualify. A suggests that many people in Great Britain are members of hill tribes.

In D the non-idiomatic "but only four million in population" is offset by commas, which suggests that "many are members..." should make sense with the first part of the sentence: "Laos has a land area comparable to the size of Great Britain, and many are members..." Even if we rewrite the sentence to say "Laos has four million citizens, and many are members...", this still doesn't quite sound right because it is not specified, many of whom or of what. It would be better to say "Laos has four million citizens, many of whom are members..."

Basically, we are left with E. Note that "...to that of Great Britain..." makes it clear, in which sense the words "land area" are used. In this context Great Britain has one, the land area, which is a number, rather than a piece of land. The logic of the sentence still escapes me. I understand that Laos is sparsely populated, but why this detail about hill tribes? Is it saying that the mountain valleys are densely populated, thus even further lowering the population density at the accessible part of Laos?

Laos has a land area about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain vallyes of the north.
A) about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many. Comparing land area with Great Britain
B) of about the same size as Great Britain is, but in Laos there is a population of only four million, and many. Comparing land area with Great Britain
C) that is about the same size as Great Britain's land area, but in Laos with a population of only four million people, many of them. After "But" prepositional phrase which is not parallel to preceding part of the sentence
D) comparable to the size of Great Britain, but only four million in population, and many. Comparing land area with size ofGreat Britain
E) comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people, many of whom. correct
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A and B incorrectly compare the land area to Great Britain. Eliminate A and B. The SC must compare apples to apples: it must compare either the two countries themselves (Laos and Britain) or the land area of one country to the land area of the other country.

D incorrectly compares land area to the size. Eliminate D.

C states that Laos has a land area...but many of them are members, incorrectly drawing a contrast between Laos (the country) and many (the people).

The correct answer is E.

Consider a Kudos if this is useful

(Responding to your message)
@ abm03 & @ gmatter0913 - you are absolutely correct here.

Yes. There is ellipsis in this sentence. Let me present you the sentence structure analysis.
• Laos has
o a land area comparable to that of Great Britain
o but a population of only four million people,
• many of whom are members of hill tribes.

The sentence is essentially same as saying “Laos has a land area comparable to that of Great Britain but has a population of only four million people.”
Yes. As you have rightly identified, this sentence is similar to the following sentences
• He is young but mature.
• He is tall but weak

Hope this helps!
Regards,
Krishna
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Hi EGMAT!

Can you please help me with answer d ? Why exactly is e right and d wrong??

Thanks!!

Hi dp26389,
Thank you for the query.


Let’s first take a look at option D:

• Laos has a land area comparable to the size of Great Britain, but only four million in population,
• and many are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain valleys of the north.

ERRORS

1. This sentence illogically compares “a land area” to “the size of Great Britain”. As we know, the compared entities should be logically as well as grammatically parallel. So, we need to compare “land area” of one country to “land area” of another country.
2. The fact that most of the population of Laos lives in mountain valleys is mentioned as a modifier in the original sentence, and the main point of the sentence is to convey the contrast between the land sizes and populations of two countries. However, by using “comma + and” to connect the two clauses, this sentence makes the second clause “many are….” an independent clause, and hence attaches an undue importance to this fact.
3. This sentence has a fragment. Note that Comma + but indicates presence of an independent clause. However, 'but only four million in population' does not have the subject – verb pair. Ideally there should not be any comma prior to “but” for it to be grammatically correct sentence.
4. It's not clear what "many" refers to.


Now, let’s take a look at option E:

• Laos has a land area comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people,
o many of whom are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain valleys of the north.

1. This choice has correct idiom comparing “the land area” of Laos to “that (= land area) of Great Britain”.
2. “a population of only four million” is parallel to “a land…”. Notice that “has” is understood before “a population…” to avoid repetition.
3. Relative pronoun “whom” is correct to refer to “people”.

Hope this helps!
Deepak
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This is the way I looked at it:

Laos has a land area about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain vallyes of the north.
A) about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many (should refer to people, so cannot use where)
B) of about the same size as Great Britain is, but in Laos there is a population of only four million, and many (repeats the original error - 'and many are members' cannot refer to the population)
C) that is about the same size as Great Britain's land area, but in Laos with a population of only four million people, many of them (cannot have an independent clause)
D) comparable to the size of Great Britain, but only four million in population, and many (repeats the error)
E) comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people, many of whom (correct - the pronoun clearly refers to the people)

Laos has a land area about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain vallyes of the north.

(A) about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many -1. where is wrongly used // 2. wrong comparison between land are and Great Britain

(B) of about the same size as Great Britain is, but in Laos there is a population of only four million, and many -wrong comparison between land area and Great Britain

(C) that is about the same size as Great Britain's land area, but in Laos with a population of only four million people, many of them -This is a fragment (Laos with ....)

(D) comparable to the size of Great Britain, but only four million in population, and many -1. unclear comparison between land area and size of Great Britain // 2. change in meaning by the use of second "and"

(E) comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people, many of whom -Correct

Let's not bother to look at the main statement but concentrate the choices and try to eliminate the four wrong choices

(A) about the same as Great Britain but only four million in population, where many --- Where cannot refer to a population -- wrong

(B) of about the same size as Great Britain is, but in Laos, there is a population of only four million, and many ---Four million of what? A population can refer to any of the inhabitants of an area such as the tiger's population in India or the wild boar's population in the prairies of the US and so on. It is essential to denote explicitly what the population stands for. ---wrong.
2. a land area of A is being compared to what a country B is -- wrong

(C) that is about the same size as Great Britain's land area, but in Laos with a population of only four million people, many of them-- Whenever 'as' is used in comparisons, the comparison can happen only between two verbed entities. --- wrong

(D) comparable to the size of Great Britain, but only four million in population, and many--same comparison error of 'as' found in C =wrong

(E) comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people, many of whom --- We have already removed the four potential errors ; the fifth one must be the correct one. However, for the sake of satisfaction, one can note that choice E has effectively removed all the errors noted in the other four choices and is error-free. --Correct choice.

Whether missing the comma before 'but' is proper? The right way to parse choice E is:
Laos has (a land area comparable to that of Great Britain) but (a population of only four million people) - It may be seen that 'but' is a coordinate conjunction involving only two nouns and therefore does not require the use of a comma. A comma is used before a fanboys conjunction only when a new verbed clause involving a subject and verb is started. You cannot even expect the comma to be there when the subject is missing but a verb only exists. In this case, both the subject and the verb are missing after the 'but' hence a comma is not required. For the sake of the record, is there any official instance wherein a comma is used before coordinate conjunctions such as but' or 'and' without an accompanying clause?
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I have question regarding usage of 'as' in Option C.Use of 'as' without a verb/phrase is of a role player . eg: as a doctor
So, in that way : as Great Britain's land area
Is it incorrect for comparison ?

Option E is -
Laos has a land area comparable to that of Great Britain but a population of only four million people, many of whom are members of hill tribes ensconced in the virtually inaccessible mountain vallyes of the north.
My doubt is about the many of whom are ...
Isn't it a run on sentence. Shouldn't there be any connector between first sentence and other one.
Or many of whom is an absolute phrase.

Obviously, there is a gap in my understanding.
Experts,
Requesting your comments on the same.

Regards,
Nikhil

Hi nikhilbhide, a run-on sentence is when two Independent clauses are connected by a comma.

In this sentence, many of whom are members.... is a relative clause (relative clauses are dependent clauses, not Independent clauses). Hence, this is not a run-on sentence.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses run-on sentences, gtheir application and examples in significant detail. If someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
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