Many investors base their choice between bonds and stocks on comparing

OA is C.

1. 'Compare to' Vs 'Compare with'
'Compare to' is used to compare to unlike things and tell the similarity between
them.
'Compare with' is used to compare two like things and tell the difference between
them.

This narrows choices down to 'C' & 'E'

2. 'Among' Vs 'Between'

'Among' - used when dealign with over 2 things
'Between' - used when dealing with 2 things

This narows choices down to 'A' , 'C', 'E'

Between choices 'C' and 'E', the difference is the usage 'comparing' vs
'comparison'

'comparison' is an act of 'comparing'.
Also note the usage 'based on ....comparisons ...with'

Here is my take on it:

Firstly, according to MGMAT, the GMAT ignores the difference between 'compare to' and 'compare with'. (pg.148 Sentence Correction guide)

Many investors base their choice between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields to the dividends available on common stocks.

A between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields to
seems to imply the choice is based on the act of comparing rather than the comparison itself

B among bonds and stocks on comparisons of bond yields to
incorrect use of 'among'

C between bonds and stocks on comparisons of bond yields with OK
seems kosher: between is correctly used and the choice is based on the outcome of the comparison rather than the on act of comparing.

D among bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields and
incorrect use of 'among'

E between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields with
seems to imply the choice is based on the act of comparing rather than the comparison itself

I have a different idea
on arriving the hotel, I study gmat immediately

in this sentence, a correct one, on following by doing.

the point in this sentence is that if doing is used as pure noun, and a pure noun exist, specifically coparision, we should you noun form , and do not use doing as pure a noun. honestly, we need to do about gerund, participle and doing as pure noun to understand this question properly. these points are not explained enough in grammar book and in gmat og books and many persons fail.

thangvietnam With the same reasoning that you have furnished, wouldn't "on arrival" be more appropriate than "on arriving"? This in turn would lead to the same explanation that Daagh provided: the preposition "on" followed by a noun.





However I beg to differ with the opinion that any preposition must be followed by a noun (phrase) or a pronoun (phrase).

After reaching the hotel, I called up John...... is there any error in this sentence?

The preposition "after" is followed by a gerund - the same structure as that in A,D and E. daagh Sir, kindly correct me, if I am making any mistake.

Could someone clarify "comparisons" vs "comparing" ??

comparisons is a noun, whereas comparing is a verb. In the given context, I think comparing is correct. What is it I'm missing. Can someone please fill me?

Th correct usage is:
base on + (noun).

My conclusion is based on my observation.... correct.

"Comparing" here is also a noun - a gerund ( not a verb as you mentioned) - but when available, a concrete noun is preferred to a gerund.

My conclusion is based on my observing ... wrong.

GMATNinja , daagh , AjiteshArun , gmatexam439

Please elaborate the POE for A and E . B and D are very easy to eliminate.

Regards
PB

Prateek176

Not an expert but let me try this one.

Between is used when there are 2 entities and among when there are more than 2 entities. Hence, bonds and stocks require between

So B & D is gone

Now see the bold part and remove the fluff.

Many investors base their choice between bonds and stocks on on comparisons of bond yields to the dividends available on common stocks.
So as highlighted above "on" is a preposition and thus require a noun, so comparison should be used instead of ing form comparing.

OA E

Hope it helps.

verb + ing or verb + ed form (comparing) of a noun refers to the action/process of that noun.

the noun (comparisons) form refers to the results.

Here, many investors base their choice on the comparison which the result of this action.

I know you guys have seen many other correct sentences that use "comparing", but this question obviously wants to test you on the usage of noun and verb+ing forms. That's why you want to consider the above principles. If there are no other answers that include different forms like this problem or that answer has something else wrong in it, "comparing" might be right.



Compare to vs. Compare with

compare to: two distinct things, find their similarities

compare with: two similar things, find their differences.

Here, investors want to compare two similar things, find their differences, and choose the better one.

Many investors base their choice between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields to the dividends available on common stocks.


(A) between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields to
1. “Comparing --- to” is wrong since bonds and stocks belong to the same category of items.
2. Compared to – used for different category of items. Compared with – used for same category of items
3. “Base --- on comparing” is wrong, It should be “based on comparison” ------ based on always takes a noun
INCORRECT

(B) among bonds and stocks on comparisons of bond yields to
1. “Among” is wrong if comparing 2 things
2. Comparison to --- incorrect (should be “comparison with” or “comparing with”)
INCORRECT

(C) between bonds and stocks on comparisons of bond yields with
1. CORRECT usage of “between” and comparison with”
CORRECT

(D) among bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields and
1. among is wrong ------INOCRRECT
2. “comparing ----- a AND b” is incorrect.

(E) between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields with
1. “base --- on comparing” is incorrect ------- should be “base --- on comparison”
INCORRECT

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