Minerva Consulting has a budget about the same as the largest consulti

Can you please check again, because E cannot be the right answer, because "those" cannot refer to "budget".

In fact, "that" will also be incorrect, because the companies have "budgets" (while "that" would only refer to "budget"). So, actually "budgets" should be present.

Even I feel something is wrong with option E.

Refer chapter 5, Pronouns, MGMAT SC Guide.
Topic : This, that, these and those.

Following sentence is considered wrong:
Her company is outperforming THOSE of her competitors.

It is clearly mentioned that GMAT insists that any "New Copy" that or those agree in number with previous version. If you must change the number repeat the pronoun.

I am not sure whether this rules has changed or not. Moreover, this is not an official question; thus, we can ignore such question.

I agree, repeating the noun would be better. but I can find other errors in other options.

Not discussing like vs such as -

Minerva Consulting has a budget about the same as the largest consulting firms in the state, like Cost Stonehouse or McKidney’s, but only twenty four in workforce, all of whom have advanced degrees.

a. about the same as the largest consulting firms in the state, like Cost Stonehouse or McKidney’s, but only twenty four in workforce, all of whom have
b. of about the same as the largest consulting firms in the state have, as Cost Stonehouse or McKidney’s, but in Minerva there is only a workforce of twenty four, and all of them have
c. that is about the same as the budgets of largest consulting firms in the state, such as Cost Stonehouse or McKidney’s, but in Minerva with a workforce of only twenty four, all of them having

The sentence structure is
MC has X but Y, [Modifier of Y]
This option has a sentence structure of
MC has X but in MC [with clause] -> which is wrong.

d. comparable to the budgets of the largest consulting firms in the state, like Cost Stonehouse or McKidney’s, but only twenty four in workforce, and all have
Here the sentence structure is:
MC has X, Y and Z. where Z should be structured to be modifier of Y.

e. comparable to those of the largest consulting firms in the state, such as Cost Stonehouse or McKidney’s, but a workforce of only twenty four, all of whom have. - Looks correct.

Dear Experts, chetan2u

Please explain errors in option B & C.

Hi,
1) Firstly, the meaning part...
The original meaning and usage of BUT is supposed to show a CONTRAST.. The contrast is that although the BUDGET is coparable to big Firms, the work force is very less..
It is not there in both C and B, Usage of "in minerva ' after but does not bring the required contrast..
In case of usage of "in Minerva" in BUT clause, even Largest firms should have been mentioned to complete the CONTRAST and comparison..

2) b. of about the same as the largest consulting firms in the state have, as Cost Stonehouse or McKidney’s, but in Minerva there is only a workforce of twenty four, and all of them have
--IT should be 'buget of -- some amount--' and not 'budget of about the same'..
--'Such as' should be used to give examples and not'as'..

3)c. that is about the same as the budgets of largest consulting firms in the state, such as Cost Stonehouse or McKidney’s, but in Minerva with a workforce of only twenty four, all of them having
-- Apart of the meaning part, there is no reason to use WITH the way it is..

Hi chetan,

I did not notice "in minerva" in option b & c..my bad

thanks for the explanation.

After 3 minutes I can't find any correct choice because of "those" in Choice E

Can anyone confirm that "those" can be used instead of "that"?

Option E is not absolutely correct grammatically - you have rightly questioned.

The pronouns that/ those can be used to depict 'copy / copies' of the antecedent.

Right: My car is bigger than that of yours.
The pronoun that does not refer to the same car (my car), but a different car (your car).

Right: My shoes are bigger than those of your yours.
The pronoun those does not refer to the same shoes (my shoes), but some different shoes (your shoes).

However the pronoun those cannot be used when the antecedent is singular.

Wrong: My car is bigger than those of yours.
The pronoun those does not refer to the same car (my car), but some different cars (your cars). However, for one 'original' (my car) multiple 'copies' (your cars) are depicted - such sentences are incorrect.

Right: My car is bigger than the cars of yours.

For the same reason, the usage of those is improper in the subject sentence - the plural pronoun those refers to a singular antecedent budget.

Does 'comparable budget' mean the 'same budget'? Doesn't it shift the meaning?

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