Not unlike many birds' nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts

Question

Not unlike many birds' nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts  mostly of mud, thatch, and water, constructed using few, if any, sophisticated tools.

A. Not unlike many birds' nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts
B. Just like many birds' nests, the huts of the Musgum people of Cameroon are made
C. Just like many birds and their nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts
D. Not unlike many birds' nests, the huts of the Musgum people of Cameroon are made
E. Like many birds' nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts

VeritasPrepBrian · Accepted Answer

Regarding B vs. D, there are a couple cool lessons involved in that decision:

1) While students tend to hate the "double negative" feeling of the phrase "not unlike," it's a valid phrase that has been used in correct answers on the GMAT. Temurkhon and gmatime nailed the meaning here: I always look at "not unlike" as meaning "more similar than you might think" or "different, but with enough similarities that the comparison deserves attention." So it's helpful to just be familiar with that phrase in case it comes up: it's a valid structure.

2) Way more likely to be problematic than "not unlike" is "just like." "Not unlike" as you see above is pretty hard to logically disprove, as it encompasses both "it's different" but "there are similarities." (It's like a weatherman saying "chance of rain" - he's right either way whether it rains or doesn't). But "just like" has a really high bar to hit - it's essentially saying "with regard to what's being discussed, these two things are exactly the same." And here, the non-underlined portion includes a difference that violates "just like" - when it says that the Musgum people "use few, if any, sophisticated tools" it's showing a big difference between humans and birds. Birds just do not and cannot use sophisticated tools. The comparison being drawn here is about the method in which the two types of dwellings - nests and huts - are made, and the inclusion of sophisticated tools for the human huts means that those methods are decidedly different.

3) Larger than the precision in language of comparison diction - the GMAT has evolved toward more and more logical meaning decisions in Sentence Correction. So train yourself to see those kinds of logical differences. The testmaker is pretty good at hiding them farther from the underline than many examinees are prepared to go - had this sentence ended at "are made mostly of mud, thatch, and water" B is a very viable choice. "Just like" works well there. But when you add "using few, if any, sophisticated tools" - which seems at first glance to just be filler text to round out the sentence - the logic changes. Especially on harder questions, the whole sentence tends to matter: if you're struggling to make a decision between 2 or 3 final answer choices, the important element may well lie far from the underlined portion.

gmatime · Answer

D and not B because "not unlike" means there exists some similarities while "just like" means they are completely similar.

Is that the correct reasoning?

BeingHan · Answer

B , which keeps the comparison between the huts and nests.

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It should be D. In B ,Just at the start of sentence signifies exactness. Which will not be the same . I mean nests are different from homes in many ways.

amod1187 · Answer

D,Like many bird's nest, the musgum.people of cameron builf huts

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sindhya1781 · Answer

B.
D also has the right comparison but B seems more correct

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Temurkhon · Answer

as I see "not unlike" means different but have some similarities. 
So, any substitutes with "like" are inappropriate here, so B,C,E out.

D provides good parallelism

sandaki · Answer

Would like to know how D is a better answer than B.

gmatify17 · Answer

Option A-Nests are being compared to Musgum people, comparison which likely is wrong.
option B-hold
Option c-Same reason as in A
Option D-hold
option E-Again a wrong comparison
Now in B VS D
Read non underline part which says people build huts with help of mud, water and if required then they also use some sophisticated tools.But does this also go with nests of building birds. Do birds also take help of sophisticated HUTS????
Clearly No, hence D is more logically correct than B...

prabugmat · Answer

IMO D

A. Not unlike many birds' nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts -- Wrong comparison
B. Just like many birds' nests, the huts of the Musgum people of Cameroon are made -- Change in meaning
C. Just like many birds and their nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts -- Comparison and meaning issue 
D. Not unlike many birds' nests, the huts of the Musgum people of Cameroon are made
E. Like many birds' nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts -- Wrong Comparison

Bunuel · Answer

VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

This problem primarily tests the concept of logical comparisons. As you can see in choice A, the introductory modifier "not unlike many birds' nests" should be comparing the nests to the huts. But it is not: the placement of the modifier next to "the Musgum people" is illogically comparing nests to people. So as you look through the answer choices you should attempt to find a choice that fixes this issue (either by comparing nests to huts - the dwellings made of mud, thatch, and water - or by comparing birds to people - the makers of the dwellings).

Of course, once you've found one instance of an error you should first scan the answer choices to quickly eliminate any other instances of it. Choice E replicates the error in choice A, again comparing nests to people, so E can be eliminated.

Choice B corrects the logical comparison by comparing nests to huts, but commits a different area of logic. The phrase "just like" suggests that the comparison is identical, but of course the birds' nests and human huts aren't perfectly identical. The "smoking gun" is at the end of the sentence: "...using few, if any, sophisticated tools." Birds cannot use sophisticated tools, so this comparison could never be made exactly. For this reason, choices B and C are incorrect.

Choice D, then, is the right answer. And a note about the phrase "not unlike" - while it may seem like a double negative, it has a particular meaning. To say that something is "not unlike" something else means that they're more similar than one might think, but still of course different. Here the meaning is used well :a birds' nest and a human dwelling are generally not things that you would see as being very much alike, but the author is pointing out the similar materials to show that they're more alike than you would think.

shinsakuyagi · Answer

Could someone explain the grammatical construction of the below part??

“constructed using few, if any, sophisticated tools.”

Posted from my mobile device

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

This phrase uses the adjective ‘few’. There is a difference in meaning between the expressions ‘few’ and ‘a few’.
 Few  means hardly anything.
E.g.: There are few schools in this area.  (This sentence means that there are hardly any schools in the area.)

‘A few’  means that there is something at least. This phrase is sued in a more positive sense than the former.
E.g.: There are a few good schools in this area.  (This sentence means that there are at least some good schools in the area.)

In the given phrase - “constructed using few, if any, sophisticated tools.”, the phrase  ‘few, if any’  conveys the meaning that the huts of the Musgum people are constructed  using hardly any, in fact maybe no  sophisticated tools at all.

I hope this helps.

Jayanthi Kumar.

CEdward · Answer

I still don't understand point 2. 
Can someone elaborate further? 
How does the use of 'Not unlike' rather than 'Just like' render the sentence correct, considering the end of the sentence 'sophisticated tools'?

MBAB123 · Answer

I have the same question. When I see the phrase "Just like" I do not think that the 2 entities are alike in all aspects. Of course a human hut and a bird's nest can never be alike in all aspects. The idea of "Just like" or even "Not unlike" is it to compare 2 entities and then introduce the factors that are common to both. What is the point of introducing 3 factors that are common to nests and huts and then suddenly introducing a factor that is not common.

AndrewN, would you mind sharing your thoughts?

AndrewN , would you mind sharing your thoughts?

AndrewN · Answer

Like many people, according to the question statistics, I was able to narrow the options down to (B) and (D) fairly quickly, and then I started considering the possible difference in meaning between them. The comparison  like , on its own, suggests a similarity between different entities.  Just like  is an extension of that thought, suggesting a higher degree of similarity than  like  on its own. That said, I agree that  just like  does not mean  identical  all around. I could write,  Just like the leg muscles of a human, those of the cheetah contain many fast-twitch fibers that allow the creature to generate high speeds.  The emphasis seems to be on a shared trait of muscle composition, fast-twitch fibers. Whether the  that  clause that follows is meant to reach back to the human is more debatable, given what the clause says. Are humans fast? That seems like a judgment call. Do I think the comparison suggests that a human can generate high speeds? Yes, I do, but I would call it a secondary concern.

All of this is to say that after ten or so more seconds of deliberation between (B) and (D), I chose (D) as the safer option.  Not unlike  allows for a little more wiggle room within the comparison than  just like . Believe it or not, I started thinking of different types of mud that might be used for bird nests in different areas, and I started to think that  just like  seemed too narrow. I teach my students this all the time, but when in doubt, play it safe. Do not chase what you think may sound better. The less restrictive comparison between birds and humans is more fitting here, particularly in light of the tools that are mentioned in the final part of the sentence.

I hope that helps. Thank you for bringing the question to my attention.

- Andrew

nayas96 · Answer

Not unlike many birds' nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts mostly of mud, thatch, and water, constructed using few, if any, sophisticated tools.

A. Not unlike many birds' nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts
B. Just like many birds' nests, the huts of the Musgum people of Cameroon are made
C. Just like many birds and their nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts
D. Not unlike many birds' nests, the huts of the Musgum people of Cameroon are made
E. Like many birds' nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts

Can someone please explain the subject verb scenario here ?

The comparision shoudl be between the birds' nest and the huts if Musgum people of Camerron. 
I also understand from the discussion above about the exact similarities explained whe we say "Just like" and the exact similiarities with some differences when we use the term "Not unlike"
But the subject verb comparision, feels off here. The term in option (D) - which is the correct answer - The subject here is "huts" and the verb for it "are made", then what kind of role does the phrase in the non-underlined portion play "constructed using few, if any, sophisticated tools.".

Is it a modifier? Because if its a modifier it tends to modify the term "huts of Mushum people of Camerron", given that the modifier usually tends to stick with the noun term that it tends to modify. 
It cannot be a verb because then, parellelism would be required between the two clauses of "made" and contructed.

KarishmaB   Sajjad1994   VeritasPrepBrian   BillyZ   generis   GMATNinja   GMATNinja Two  AndrewN 
Kindly please help me clarify regarding this issue.

KarishmaB · Answer

Yes, the phrase "constructed ..." is a modifier. It modifies "the huts of the Musgum people of Cameroon" or perhaps we can say the entire previous clause. It is a past participle at the end of the clause separated by a comma. Sure, this is not common usage but acceptable. Since it is in the non-underlined part, we are not tested on it and hence no worries. Check this: https://anaprep.com/sentence-correction ... rticiples/

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  nayas96 ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, here "constructed using few, if any, sophisticated tools" is a past participle modifying phrase that refers to the entirety of the preceding clause.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

VerbalBot · Answer

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Not unlike many birds' nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts

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Not unlike many birds' nests, the Musgum people of Cameroon build huts

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