Many utilities obtain most of their electric power from large coal and

Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question one problem at a time and narrow it down to the correct answer!

Many utilities obtain most of their electric power from large coal and nuclear operations at costs that are sometimes two to three times higher as that of power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both make use of waste heat and take advantage of the current abundance of natural gas.

A. two to three times higher as that of power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both
B. higher by two to three times as that from smaller, more efficient plants that both can
C. two to three times higher than those for power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both
D. between two to three times higher as those for power from smaller, more efficient plants that both can
E. between two to three times higher than from smaller, more efficient plants that they can both

After doing a quick scan of the answers, there are a few clear differences between each answer we need to address:

1. Using "as that" versus "than" in a comparison
2. Pronoun-antecedent agreement
3. The use of "between"

First, let's look at the use of "as that" versus "than." These two options are both tied to the comparative word "higher." We know that, whenever we use the comparative, it MUST be followed by the word "than."

The tree will grow higher as that of the roof. --> WRONG
The tree will grow higher than the roof. --> CORRECT

This means we can eliminate options A, B, and D right away because they all use "higher as" instead of "higher than."

Now we've narrowed it down to just C and E, so let's focus on the differences between them:

C. two to three times higher than those for power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both

The pronoun those is clearly referring back to "costs." This option is CORRECT because the pronoun and antecedent reference is clear and in agreement.

E. between two to three times higher than from smaller, more efficient plants that they can both

Answer E is INCORRECT for a couple reasons.

First, saying that the costs are "between two to three times higher" is redundant, which is a big no-no on the GMAT.

Second, the pronoun they doesn't make sense where it's placed. It's unclear what they is referring to: the utilities, the power, the costs, etc.? This vague pronoun is another no-no on the GMAT, so this is clearly not the right answer.

That leaves us with C as the correct answer!


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

We can separate coordinate adjectives with a comma (or an and). For example, we could go with something like:

1. ... the talented, culturally-diverse set of students in the class...
or
2. It was a cold, dark room, but at least the interviewer had a warm, welcoming smile.
_________________

Clear C it is

A. two to three times higher as that of power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both. Comparative form requires than in place of as

B. higher by two to three times as that from smaller, more efficient plants that both can. Comparative form requires than in place of as


C. two to three times higher than those for power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both. Correctly uses than and in the end use of both make the sentence parallel.

D. between two to three times higher as those for power from smaller, more efficient plants that both can[color=#ed1c24]Comparative form requires than in place of as
[/color]

E. between two to three times higher than from smaller, more efficient plants that they can bothbetween X and Y correct idiom.

Answer C.

A. two to three times higher as that of power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both

B. higher by two to three times as that from smaller, more efficient plants that both can

C. two to three times higher than those for power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both

D. between two to three times higher as those for power from smaller, more efficient plants that both can

E. between two to three times higher than from smaller, more efficient plants that they can both


Thanks,
GyM
_________________

1) Higher is comparative so requires THAN..
2) THOSE is the correct pronoun for costs in " higher than THOSE for power from smaller....
3) can is common to both items - make use... and take advantage....
So it should be .. that can both ....in the underlined portion

Only C Corrects the above errors..

C
_________________

Many utilities obtain most of their electric power from large coal and nuclear operations at costs that are sometimes two to three times higher as that of power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both make use of waste heat and take advantage of the current abundance of natural gas.


A. two to three times higher as that of power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both

Comparison - X higher than Y - is the correct use. "as" is incorrect.
Also "that of power" is incorrect. Costs - is plural so we need "those".Incorrect

B. higher by two to three times as that from smaller, more efficient plants that both can
Same Error as in A

C. two to three times higher than those for power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both
Eliminates all the error.
but notice the use of phrase after comma - more efficient plants that can both
Its intended meaning is -
more efficient plants that can both make use of waste heat.
and
more efficient plants that can take advantage of the current abundance of natural gas.


D. between two to three times higher as those for power from smaller, more efficient plants that both can
Use of "between" is incorrect. Use of "as" is also incorrect.

E. between two to three times higher than from smaller, more efficient plants that they can both
Use of "between" is incorrect.
Illogical comparison.

Ans - C

Dear EMPOWERgmatVerbal,

An easy question, but I would like to understand what is the usage of "," here

Many utilities obtain most of their electric power from large coal and nuclear operations at costs that are sometimes two to three times higher than those for power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both make use of waste heat and take advantage of the current abundance of natural gas.

Shouldnt comma be replaced by "And"?

I am just curious to understand the sentence structure here.

Answer is C.Because with a comparative word, than should be used.Only in C and E options it is mentioned.
But, in E, "and" is not used with Between, hence E is eliminated.

Thanks for your question GunjS!

When you list 2 adjectives together, you can use the word "and" or use a comma to connect them. Both are correct ways to list them out!

This also applies to when you list 3 or more adjectives, though we do prefer to just use commas when listing them. Here's an example:

There was a large, fat, yellow bird sitting on my windowsill this morning. --> correct and most preferred method
There was a large, fat, and yellow bird sitting on my windowsill this morning. --> correct, but less preferred method (can confuse some readers)
There was a large and fat and yellow bird sitting on my windowsill this morning. --> also correct, but less preferred method (seems too wordy to most readers)

I hope that helps! Feel free to tag us at EMPOWERgmatVerbal if you have any other questions!
_________________

Hi AjiteshArun GMATNinja egmat

Can we omit those in (C) without changing meaning?

Hi TorGmatGod,

It should be possible, but the GMAT would most likely consider such a construction slightly ambiguous (adding a those helps us establish that the comparison is between two types of costs). It'd be good to see more opinions on this though.
_________________

Higher than those vs
Higher than that of

Can someone please help me with what is better between the two.


Modified A) two to three times higher than that of power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both

Would this be correct?

I find using "those" very awkward.
Not sure why.

Can you also link me resources where I can read about usage of "those" and also of "that of".

Posted from my mobile device

Hi brother, Varane
Not an expert but will try to help

Doubt1:
A) two to three times higher than that of power from smaller, more efficient plants that can both

Would this be correct?
NO
Reason: that is referring back to "costs", which are plural hence those are needed in place of "that".

Doubt2:
Higher than those vs
Higher than that of

Can someone please help me with what is better between the two.
Both are equally good but depending on the context of the sentence which one to use.

Thanks.

Since the intent is to refer back to "costs" (plural), "those" (and not that) would be the correct demonstrative pronoun to use in this case.

Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana tabulates the usage of various. Have attached the corresponding section of the book, for your reference. Specifically focus on the usage of Rows 3 & 4 in the attachment, since they talk about the usage of that and those as demonstrative pronouns.

_________________

Hi Varane,

Those is just the plural form of that. However, there are some forms of that that don't have a plural form.

1. That was a tough question. | Those were some tough questions. | That were some tough questions. ← That is used as a pronoun here, and has a plural form, those.

2. That question was tough. | Those questions were tough. | That questions were tough. ← As a determiner, that has a plural form.

3. A question that was tough... | Questions that were tough... | Questions those were tough... ← As a relative pronoun, that does not have a plural form.

4. The question was not that tough! | The question was not those tough! ← Again, no plural form when that is used as an adverb.

5. She did {something} so that she... | She did {something} so that she... ← No plural form when we use that to introduce a dependent clause.

The kind of that you're asking about is supposed to be read as "the {previously mentioned singular noun}" (the the isn't too important, depending on context).

6. The colour of the car matches that of the motorcycle. ← "The colour of the car matches the colour of the motorcycle".

In such cases, we can use those as the plural of that to mean "the {previously mentioned plural noun}".

7. The economies of Asia are more resilient than those of Europe. ← "The economies of Asia are more resilient than the economies of Europe.".
_________________

I’m not able to digest” than those for power”…..
The for just does not sounds right….that’s why I chose E even knowing that it has pronoun issue
Can u pls clear my doubt,thanks

Hello A2D2,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, here "those" refers to "costs", so Option C clearly and correctly compares "costs" with "costs for power", meaning the costs paid for electric power.

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

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of the crucial part of this sentence is that the costs of electric power from large coal and nuclear operations are two to three times higher than those for power from plants that are smaller and more efficient and can make use of waste heat and take advantage of the current abundance of natural gas.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns + Parallelism + Idioms + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• Comparison markers such as "more" and "less" ("higher" in this case) must have a logical sequence with "than"; in a comparison, "more/less...than" is the idiomatic construction.
• “both A and B" or "A as well as B" are the correct usages; A and B must be parallel and comparable.

A:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "costs" with the singular pronoun "that".
2/ Option A incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "higher as"; remember, comparison markers such as "more" and "less" ("higher" in this case) must have a logical sequence with "than"; in a comparison, "more/less...than" is the idiomatic construction.

B:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly refers to the plural noun "costs" with the singular pronoun "that".
2/ Option B incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "higher...as"; remember, comparison markers such as "more" and "less" ("higher" in this case) must have a logical sequence with "than"; in a comparison, "more/less...than" is the idiomatic construction.
3/ Option B fails to maintain parallelism between A ("can make use of waste heat") and B ("take advantage of the current abundance of natural gas") in the idiomatic construction "both A and B"; remember, “both A and B" or "A as well as B" are the correct usages; A and B must be parallel and comparable.
4/ Option B uses the needlessly wordy phrase "higher by two to three times", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

C: Correct.
1/ This answer choice uses the phrase "plants that can both", conveying the intended meaning - that the costs of electric power from large coal and nuclear operations are two to three times higher than those for power from plants that are smaller and more efficient and can make use of waste heat and take advantage of the current abundance of natural gas.
2/ Option C correctly refers to the plural noun "costs" with the plural pronoun "those".
3/ Option C correctly uses the idiomatic construction "higher than".
4/ Option C maintains parallelism between A ("make use of waste heat") and B ("take advantage of the current abundance of natural gas") in the idiomatic construction "both A and B".
5/ Option C is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

D:
1/ This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "higher as"; remember, comparison markers such as "more" and "less" ("higher" in this case) must have a logical sequence with "than"; in a comparison, "more/less...than" is the idiomatic construction.
2/ Option D fails to maintain parallelism between A ("can make use of waste heat") and B ("take advantage of the current abundance of natural gas") in the idiomatic construction "both A and B"; remember, “both A and B" or "A as well as B" are the correct usages; A and B must be parallel and comparable.
3/ Option D uses the needlessly wordy phrase "between two to three times higher", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E:
1/ This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "plants that they can both"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that the costs of electric power from large coal and nuclear operations are two to three times higher than those for power from plants that are smaller and more efficient and can make use of waste heat and take advantage of the current abundance of natural gas.
2/ Option E uses the needlessly wordy phrase "between two to three times higher", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team
_________________