Like Auden, the language of James Merrill is chatty, arch, and convers

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

To answer your question, I guess you just have to go along with logic.
Choice's C and E mention 'Auden's' --> I think this construction (if Auden were a language) would be pretty strange even for the GMAT

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.

"Like" is fine as a comparison in this case - the author is saying that Merril's language is similar to Auden's.

https://www.grammar-quizzes.com/like-as.html

C is correct for comparing noun to noun.

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

well I hope you did not write just for sake of it- suppose for a moment Auden is a language then do you see any || comparison in any of the options. I mean what are you trying to say if Auden is a language- like a language, a language of .....(what is it ? does it conveys better meaning than consider Auden a person ?). try putting other options as well into equation you will realize the issue better!

(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 !!

IMO C.

We're comparing the languages (Nouns) of two persons, and hence we have to use 'Like/Unlike'.

Only C has the correct comparison.

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.

how and where you find such Official explanation?

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.

I lookup this question by using search feature, and the question should belong to gmat paper test, this is why I do not know how you can have the OE (official explanation)
My laptop screen does not contain the source at the head of the page. Also, I do not know how to find the explanation.

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?

(A) Like Auden, the language of James Merrill
(B) Like Auden, James Merrill’s language
(C) Like Auden’s, James Merrill’s language
(D) As with Auden, James Merrill’s language
(E) As is Auden’s the language of James Merrill

(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!!

In option E, "As" is followed by a clause "is Auden's". The entire as-clause is a dependent clause which is not connected properly with the following Independent clause beginning with "the language of ......"

So there is a sentence construction error in option E.