A. between our intelligence with that of other primates may lay not so much in any specific skill but
B. between our intelligence with that of other primates may lie not so much in any specific skill but instead
C. between our intelligence and that of other primates may lie not so much in any specific skill as
D. our intelligence has from that of other primates may lie not in any specific skill as
E. of our intelligence to that of other primates may lay not in any specific skill but

1. First of all, let’s remove the two wrong choices namely A and E for using ‘lay’ instead of ‘lie’.
2. Remove B for using the wrong idiom of ‘between’ and ‘with’
3. Keep C for using the correct idiom ‘not so much in as in’
4. D: changes the intended meaning. Any specific skill as means that the difference may not lie in our ability to extend knowledge gained … The intended meaning is the opposite of what D implies. This is because of the dropping of the idiom ‘so much in’.

C therefore, is the best.
_________________

IMO C is the right answer.
1) Distinction should be followed by between (in most of the cases) when trying to compare two object(things). So, 'distinctions between' is correct usage, and it should be kept when trying to figure out the correct answer.
2) usage of ' so much' imparts correct sense to the sentence as it is playing down the effect of 'specific skill' as intended by the author.
3) I can't see any idiom usage problem in C. distinction between X and Y is correct usage.

In fact contrary to what you say, I find D wordy and awkward and would never go for it in the real thing.
Anyway, hope it helps.
cheers

Your query 1:
When one discusses the difference in meaning between P and Q, one assumes that P and Q are both grammatically correct. However, not X as Y is grammatically wrong. The question of difference in meaning does not arise whatsoever. Not X, but Y is the correct idiom.
A simplified example may make the issue clear:
My favourite colour is not green, but blue.
My favourite colour is not green, as blue. ... the usage of "as" makes the sentence ungrammatical.

Your query2:
The issue of meaning does not arise since option D is wrong idiomatically as stated above.

Note that in option C, the idiom is not "not X, but Y". The idiom in option C is "so X, as Y", which is correct.

Hello amitdey111 - This is what I can think of:

to lie means “to rest,”

to lay means “to put or place.”

To lie is an intransitive verb: it describes an action undertaken by the subject, but it will never have a direct object.

To lay is a transitive verb: it needs a direct object because it describes the kind of action that is done to something.

Now coming back to our option choices:

"between our intelligence and that of other primates may" - Try substituting "lay" - which means "to put" - This is non-sensical. Hence, the usage of "lie" is correct here.
_________________

Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one issue at a time, and narrow it down to the correct answer quickly! To start, here is the original question with any major differences between the options highlighted in orange:

One of the primary distinctions between our intelligence with that of other primates may lay not so much in any specific skill but in our ability to extend knowledge gained in one context to new and different ones.

(A) between our intelligence with that of other primates may lay not so much in any specific skill but
(B) between our intelligence with that of other primates may lie not so much in any specific skill but instead
(C) between our intelligence and that of other primates may lie not so much in any specific skill as
(D) our intelligence has from that of other primates may lie not in any specific skill as
(E) of our intelligence to that of other primates may lay not in any specific skill but

After taking a quick look over the options, here are some things we can focus on to narrow down our choices:

1. between / our intelligence has / of our intelligence (Wordiness/Meaning)
2. with / and / from / to (Idioms/Meaning)
3. lay / lie (Word Usage/Meaning)
4. but / but instead / as (Word Usage/Idioms)

#3 on our list (lay vs. lie) will eliminate 2-3 options right away, so let's start there. Lay and lie are tricky to remember, even for native English speakers, so here is a refresher:

Lay = to put down or place an object (I will lay my book down on the desk.)
Lie = to rest or recline (I will lie in bed until I feel better.)

When in doubt, replace the word "lay" or "lie" with it's intended meaning. If it works, you're using the right word. If it doesn't, then you'll need to change it. Here is how it would work in this sentence:

Lay = One of the primary distinctions between our intelligence with that of other primates may put not so much in any specific skill but in our ability to extend knowledge gained in one context to new and different ones.

Lie = One of the primary distinctions between our intelligence with that of other primates may rest not so much in any specific skill but in our ability to extend knowledge gained in one context to new and different ones.

(A) between our intelligence with that of other primates may lay not so much in any specific skill but
(B) between our intelligence with that of other primates may lie not so much in any specific skill but instead
(C) between our intelligence and that of other primates may lie not so much in any specific skill as
(D) our intelligence has from that of other primates may lie not in any specific skill as
(E) of our intelligence to that of other primates may lay not in any specific skill but

We can eliminate options A & E because they use the word "lay" instead of "lie."

Next, let's focus on #1 and #2 on our list because they sort of go together. We need to make sure we're using idioms correctly and using concise language whenever possible.

(B) between our intelligence with that of other primates may lie not so much in any specific skill but instead

This is INCORRECT because the idiom "between X from Y" is wrong. It should be "between X and Y."

(C) between our intelligence and that of other primates may lie not so much in any specific skill as

This is CORRECT! It uses the correct idiom structure "between X and Y."

(D) our intelligence has from that of other primates may lie not in any specific skill as

This is INCORRECT because it uses an incorrect idiom! The appropriate idiom structure here would be either "distinction between X and Y" or "distinction of X from Y." This sentence uses "distinction X has from Y," which is wrong.


There you have it - option C is the correct choice! It uses "lie" instead of "lay" and uses proper idiom structures!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
_________________

Sure!

Take another look at (E):

"One of the primary distinctions of our intelligence to that of other primates may lay not in any specific skill but..."

If I write "may lay," the word verb "lay," in this context means "to set down," and should take an object. For example,

"Tim may lay the matches down on a shelf, but that won't stop his three-year-old from dragging over a stool, retrieving them, and exacting revenge for all the times Tim denied him a brownie."

In this example there's a noun, "the matches," that Tim is setting down.

In (E), because there's no object to lay down, the way Tim is putting down matches, the appropriate form of the verb is "may lie," meaning "to be" or "to exist." Because the usage of "lay" is incorrect, we know that (E) is wrong.

Is that a common enough issue to bother memorizing? Nope. But if you happen to know the rule, you don't have to evaluate the idiom.

That said, while there's no reason to memorize idioms, you can sometimes reason your way through them. If we're making a distinction, there have to be multiple elements we're contrasting, right? And there can be a difference between two elements, but it would be odd to talk about a difference of two elements.

Similarly, the phrase, "primary distinctions of our intelligence," doesn't make any sense, as it sounds as though the distinctions are a quality of the intelligence. If you read the option several times, can you eventually puzzle out what the author means? I guess so. But if we see the phrase, "distinctions between x and y," it's crystal clear that there are two items to compare, so this construction is better.

Put another way, if you see an unfamiliar idiom, you can either look for another issue altogether or try to use logic to figure out which idiom is best, instead of relying on something you've memorized. There are about 25,000 idioms in English, so memorization isn't usually the best strategy.

I hope that helps!
_________________

I think the only thing to consider is to choose a correct idiom structure that is between X and Y , rather than between x with y .
C is a clear winner there on that front .