Even if Auden is a language, the sentence will still be weird.

For example:
Like Spanish, French also has nouns in the masculine and feminine form.

I don't think you would say:
Like Spanish, Bill Clinton's French also has nouns in the masculine and feminine form.
or
Like Spanish, the language of Bill Clinton also has nouns in the masculine and feminine form.

It's just weird.

Actually, I think that the comparison in your second example is just fine...

Why can't it be E? I thought we were not supposed to use 'Like', so I avoided C. "As is Auden's, the language of James Merrill" sounds fine to me.
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C is correct for comparing noun to noun.

Auden's [language] to James Merrill's language.

(A) ==> "Auden" is compared to " the language of " and that's not correct
(B) ==> "Auden" is compared to " the language " and that's not correct
(C) ==> Correct answer
(D) ==> As needs a clause / so (D) is not correct (+ a // error )
(E) ==> meaning !!

official answer

At issue is a comparison of Auden's language with Merill's language. Only C, the best choice, uses the elliptical like Auden's ( language being understood), to compare Auden's language with Merill's language. A, B, and D compare Auden (the person) with Merill's language. Choice E is awkward and unidiomatic.

Hi eyunni,

Thank you for your question. After looking over each answer quickly, there are a couple things that jump out to me:

1. the language of James Merrill / James Merril's language
2. the beginning of each answer: Like Auden / Like Auden's / As with Auden / As is Auden's

Let's start with #1 on the list, since it might narrow down our answers a bit. If you were to say "the language of James Merrill," a reader may misread this to say that there is a language spoken ONLY by James Merrill, or that James Merrill is a LOCATION where people speak a certain language. To better show that we're talking about possession, let's stick with only the answers that clearly show possession by saying "James Merrill's language." Thus, we can rule out answers A & E.

Now that we've narrowed it down to answers B, C, & D, let's look at #2 on the list - how each answer begins. To find the correct answer, we need to find the answer that uses parallel structure, in particular with each author's name:

(B) Like Auden, James Merrill’s language (WRONG = not parallel)
(C) Like Auden’s, James Merrill’s language (CORRECT = parallel)
(D) As with Auden, James Merrill’s language (WRONG = not parallel)

As you can see, answer B is correct because it shows proper possession and uses parallel structure.
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skidstorm , please see the tags at the top of this question.
The question comes from the Official Guide, Verbal Review (probably second edition - I have no way to check).
That same official answer is written, in reference to "SC 477/1,000" HERE.
Please also take a look HERE.

Hope that helps.
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skidstorm
As I understand the issue, paper test questions do not have OG explanations.
See the co-founder of this site, bb , who reviews paper-based tests and explains many details HERE.

I've attached a screenshot of the tags, above. They are circled in red.

This question is very old. The alleged sources conflict: paper test (see above)? OG Verbal Review (see above)? SC 1000 series (see below)


I will see what I can do to sort out the matter.
It might take some time.

In the meantime -- although the explanation may not be official, it is correct. Cryptic, but correct.

Do you have doubts about the analysis with which I might help you?
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(A) Like Auden, the language of James Merrill - comparing auden vs language
(B) Like Auden, James Merrill’s language - comparing auden vs language
(C) Like Auden’s, James Merrill’s language - comparing language vs language
(D) As with Auden, James Merrill’s language - comparing auden vs language
(E) As is Auden’s the language of James Merrill[/quote] - as if auden's language is the same james have.

C wins!!