Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate

Question

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than  are those that boys experience .

(A) are those that boys experience

(B) what boys experience

(C) boys’ experience would

(D) boys’ stress patterns do

(E) stress patterns of boys

EducationAisle · Accepted Answer

You ask a good question. The repetition of a  verb  ( are  in this case) is  optional  in comparison sentences. However, if  not repeating  the verb creates an  ambiguous  sentence, then we have to  repeat  the verb.

Example when  not repeating  the verb is ok

Plants are more efficient than fungi at acquiring carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, and converting it to energy-rich sugars.

Here, we  don’t  have to repeat  are , since there is no ambiguity. So, we  don’t  need to say:

Plants are more efficient than are fungi at acquiring carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, and converting it to energy-rich sugars.

Example when  not repeating  the verb is  not  ok

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than are those that boys experience .

Let us  expand  the sentence:

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that

the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression
than
those that boys experience are (likely to result in depression).

Or

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than are those that boys experience.

(A) are those that boys experience

(B) what boys experience

(C) boys’ experience would

(D) boys’ stress patterns do

(E) stress patterns of boys

If we  omit  the verb, then the sentence would be:

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than those that boys experience .

Or

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that

the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression
than
those that boys experience are (likely to result in depression).

This sentence can be misinterpreted as:

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than (in) patterns of stress that boys experience .
 
In other words, the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result

i) in depression than 
ii) (in) patterns of stress that boys experience.

So, the patterns of stress that girls experience are  more likely  to result in depression; the patterns of stress that girls experience are  less likely  to result in patterns of stress that boys experience. However, this is clearly  not  the intended meaning.

The repetition of the verb  are  ensures that the sentence  cannot  be interpreted this way.

p.s. Our book    EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana    discusses  comparison ambiguity , its applications and examples in significant detail. If you can PM you email-id, I can send you the corresponding section.

EducationAisle · Answer

Hello! Let’s complete the  intended  sentence:

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than are those that boys experience.

(A) are those that boys experience

(B) what boys experience

(C) boys’ experience would

(D) boys’ stress patterns do

(E) stress patterns of boys

A says:

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than are those that boys experience.

(A) are those that boys experience

(B) what boys experience

(C) boys’ experience would

(D) boys’ stress patterns do

(E) stress patterns of boys

With D, the sentence would be:

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than  boys’ stress patterns do  .

So, if you compare this with the  intended  sentence, at the very least,  do  is trying to substitute for  are likely to result in . Notice that  are  is an  auxiliary  verb.

I am pretty sure (unless someone can cite an example to the contrary) that  do  (and similarly  did/does  )  cannot  substitute for  auxiliary  verbs.  do/did/does  can only substitute for  main  verbs. So, following would be correct:

He runs faster than his classmates do. 
-  do  correctly substitutes for  main  verb  runs

Following would be incorrect:

Jack is more successful than his brothers do .
-  do  cannot substitute for  auxiliary  verb  is

The correct sentence would be:

Jack is more successful than his brothers are .

If you see any example that violates this, let’s discuss.

prasi55 · Answer

The comparison in E is ambiguous.

Let's look at the main comparison here. Plugging in E yields:
The patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than the stress patterns of boys.

There is no verb attached to "the stress patterns of boys" assure that the likelihoods of resulting in depression are compared.

So two interpretations are possible: the stress patterns of boys "are" also likely to result in depression (but not as much as those of girls are), or 
The stress patterns of girls can cause either depression or the stress patterns of boys.

Option A resolves the ambiguity by including the verb.

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Verb Forms + Comparisons

• Comparisons can only be made between similar things.
• "do" and its derivatives cannot refer to helping verbs.
• Statements of universal fact are best conveyed through the simple present tense. 
• The simple future tense is used to refer to actions that will take place in the future.

A:   Correct.  This answer choice correctly refers to a statement of universal fact with the simple present tense verb "are". Further, Option A avoids the verb form error seen in Option D, as it does not use the verb "do". Additionally, Option A correctly compares the verb phrases "the patterns of stress that girls experience are" and "are those that boys experience".

B:  This answer choice incorrectly compares the verb phrase "the patterns of stress that girls experience are" to the pronoun phrase "what boys experience"; remember, comparisons can only be made between similar things.

C:  This answer choice incorrectly uses the simple future tense verb "would" to refer to a statement of universal fact; remember, statements of universal fact are best conveyed through the simple present tense, and the simple future tense is used to refer to actions that will take place in the future.

D:  This answer choice incorrectly uses "do" to refer to the helping verb "are"; remember, "do" and its derivatives cannot refer to helping verbs.

E:  This answer choice incorrectly compares the verb phrase "the patterns of stress that girls experience are" to the noun phrase "stress patterns of boys"; remember, comparisons can only be made between similar things.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Simple Tenses" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATNTtugB9fM

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

vivesomnium · Answer

I think the answer is A

comparison is between:
Patterns of stress that girls experience and 
Patterns of stress that boys exoerience.

also, patterns are more likely or less likely to result in depression
and, stress is what boys and girls experience.

In B and C patterns are being compared to stress, hence rejected
D introduces the word 'do'

A is most parallel in contruction.. so I think i will choose A

sudish · Answer

Hi

Please find the explanation below:

The sentence aims to compare the 'patterns of stress that girls experience' to 'the patterns of stress that boys experience' and make a conclusion that the former can most likely result in depression.
Note that the structures being compared should always be parallel and at the same level.

For this reason, 'patterns of stress  that girls experience ' should be compared to 'those  that boys experience '. And option A clearly mentions that the boys experience is less likely to result in depression. Hence  option A  is the correct answer.

We cannot choose  option B  because it does not provide a clear comparison between the 'patterns of stress that girls experience' and the 'patterns of stress that boys experience'. It just tends to ignore the fact that the boys experience is less likely to result in depression by omitting the word 'are' before 'what'.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

ankurgupta03 · Answer

What is wrong with E?
Same things are being compared here also ...

ThuP · Answer

Shouldn't it be:

"Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression  than those that boys experience ."

without (are) repeated? It makes me confused since  those  refer back to "the patterns of stress". I don't think we need to repeat the verb (are) here, do we?

Please share your thoughts.

Thank you

sheolokesh · Answer

I could understand the difference between A and D... Both are gramatically correct.
However I think there is nothing wrong in D... In fact D is more concise..
D: boys’ stress patterns do

This means that the stress patterns of girls more likely leading to depression than  stress patterns of boys do(leading to depression) ..

But please help me why A is recommended to D? For the sake of parallelism?

nahid78 · Answer

Hello again  mikemcgarry ,
I picked A. I could eliminate B, C and D.
I picked A, as i saw it has followed the same structure, but it seems to me that E has the same meaning. I know I am wrong, just can't find out how....

Respect....

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear nahid78 , I'm happy to respond. :-)

Choice (E) does have the same meaning as (A), but choice (E) is redundant and awkward, whereas (A) is elegant. Choice (A) wins easily---a much better answer. Mike :-)

ydmuley · Answer

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than  are those that boys experience .

We are looking for an option that properly compare stress that girls experience vs. stress that boys experience

A are those that boys experience ==> Correct - Stress of boys is correctly compared with Girls
B what boys experience  ==> Patterns are being compared to stress 
C boys’ experience would color=#ed1c24]==> Patterns are being compared to stress 
D boys’ stress patterns do  ==> do cannot be the appropriate linking verb 
E stress patterns of boys  ==> missing verb form 
 
 Hence, Answer is A

adkikani · Answer

Hi Experts, 
Any reason of choosing A over E? It seems those and that are unnecessary here.
WR,
Arpit

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear adkikani , I'm happy to respond. :-)

My friend, did you read my post on the thread from February 14, 2017? I addressed this very question. As a general rule, it's very good practice to read through the entire post before asking a question that has already been discussed. Does this make sense? Mike :-)

adkikani · Answer

Hi  mikemcgarry 
As a matter of fact, I did go through your explanations but still
find that  those  and  that  are un-necessary in option A.
In fact we have contrasting views since I find E to be more precise.
Let me know gaps in my understanding.
WR,
Arpit

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear Arpit adkikani , I'm happy to respond. :-)

My friend, this is a subtle matter. I don't know whether English is your first language, but this choice between (A) & (E) certainly could be perplexing to a non-native speaker. Here's everything after the word " that " in choice (A) (A) . . . the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than are those that boys experience . The word " those " is necessary: it's a demonstrative pronoun standing in for " the patterns of stress ." The word " that " is not only necessary as a relative pronoun beginning a noun-modifying clause, but it also anchors the parallelism by reflecting the previous " that " (before the word " girls "). This presents us with perfectly parallel endings with the matching noun-modifying clauses " that girls experience . . . that boys experience ." This is elegant and well-written, and not a single iota of it is unnecessary. By contrast, here's (E): (E) . . . the patterns of stress that girls experience are more likely to result in depression than stress patterns of boys To the ears of native English speakers, this is a major train wreck. Notice that the definite article " the " is missing, which adds to the awkwardness. Note that, in contrast to (A), there is not even the vaguest attempt to construct a mirrored pattern of matching. This sounds stunted and unnatural. I can see that someone whose first language is not English might be tempted to mistake this construction for concision. The GMAT SC is so challenging, because these writers excel at creating combinations of words that might sound plausible if you don't know the language well but which simply sound off if you are a native speaker. There is often something suspect about putting two nouns together (" stress " + " patterns "), especially if these two nouns were not put together in this way in the first branch of the parallelism. The phrase " the patterns of stress that girls experience " sounds academic and formal, and the phrase " the stress patterns of boys " sounds casual, perhaps as one might see in advertising; this juxtaposition, in corresponding branches of the parallelism, creates a kind of mismatch in level of formality. Add to this that (E) completely omits the definite modifier: that absence makes (E) clankingly awkward. There is absolutely no way (E) could be correct. My friend, does all this make sense? Mike :-)

bratbg · Answer

Hi experts  AjiteshArun  ,  egmat  ,  GMATNinja   bb 
Please explain why "are" is used here

My thoughts- 'Are' is used to express the "end result" i.e Depression and 'those' is referring back to the "patterns" and it is clear that in every other option besides A the end result is not mentioned. 
And it is the end result of patterns that we are comparing not the patterns themselves.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  bratbg ,

I'm not sure what you mean by "end result", but this is the sentence that option A leads to:

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate that

the  patterns  of stress that girls experience    are   more likely to result in depression
than
  those  that boys experience    are   (likely to result in depression).

The present tense  are  is used to communicate a "fact" or "truth" about the patterns.

KaranB1 · Answer

GMATNinja  ,  MagooshExpert  ,  GMATGuruNY  ,  VeritasPrepBrian  ,  MartyTargetTestPrep  ,  DmitryFarber  ,  VeritasKarishma  ,  generis  ,  EducationAisle  ,  VeritasPrepErika  @Martimurthy

In answer choice D,"Do" can only refer to present simple verb "indicate" and therefore answer choice looks like - boys’ stress patterns indicate.

Is my understanding correct? Kindly suggest.

Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate

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Many teenagers undergo stress, but results of a recent study indicate

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