Establishing goals for a nonprofit organization is often different

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

(D)

Step 1: Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors

The fact that the word “than” is underlined is a clue that there may be a comparison problem here. When one thing (a noun) is said to differ from another, the correct phrase is different from, not “different than.” In this sentence, the -ing words “[e]stablishing” and “setting” are verb forms that function as nouns, so the comparison needs to use from, not “than.”

Step 2: Scan and Group the Answer Choices

There’s a 3-2 split between the choices that use “from,” (C), (D), and (E), and the choices that use “than,” (A) and (B).

Step 3: Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains

Eliminate (A) and (B) for being on the wrong side of the split. (C) compares “[e]stablishing” to “goals,” which would not be parallel, so this choice is incorrect. By introducing “the” and “of,” (E) violates parallelism and is unnecessarily wordy. Thus, (D) is correct. Confirm this by reading it back into the sentence:

Establishing goals for a nonprofit organization is often different from setting goals for a profit-making enterprise because the stakeholders of the former may be more varied.
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IMO D ,
Idiomatically correct
Plus concise

Clear and idiomatically correct.

Establishing goals for a nonprofit organization is often different from setting goals for a profit-making enterprise because the stakeholders of the former may be more varied.

IMO D

The correct idiom is X different from y

Hence D is correct option

Posted from my mobile device

the setting of is incorrect so B and E are incorrect

between A,C,D

from in C presents a different meaning

and the correct idiom is different from not than

so (D)
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imo D
Establishing goals for a nonprofit organization is often different than setting goals for a profit-making enterprise because the stakeholders of the former may be more varied.

-- Different From is correct Idiom
X is Different From Y .. -- X and Y must be parallel


A. than setting - Wrong idiom

B. than the setting of - Wrong idiom

C. from - Establishing goals is not parallel to goals

D. from setting
-- Establishing goals is parallel to setting goals Correct

E. from the setting of - Establishing goals is not parallel to the setting of goals

My answer - D

Establishing goals for a nonprofit organization is often different than setting goals for a profit-making enterprise because the stakeholders of the former may be more varied.


A. than setting - Incorrect - Idiom different from

B. than the setting of - Incorrect - Idiom different from

C. from - Incorrect - comparing establishing goal to a goal

D. from setting - Correct

E. from the setting of - Incorrect - wordy and not parallel

Establishing goals for a nonprofit organization is often different than setting goals for a profit-making enterprise because the stakeholders of the former may be more varied.


A. than setting Incorrect

correct idioms - ..........different ...............from..........

B. than the setting of Incorrect

correct idioms - ..........different ...............from..........

C. from Incorrect

comparison error - Establishing goals compare with goals

D. from setting Correct

E. from the setting of Incorrect

parallelism problem - Establishing goals................................. the setting of............
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Establishing goals for a nonprofit organization is often different than setting goals for a profit-making enterprise because the stakeholders of the former may be more varied.

A. than setting -> different than is used for clauses. It is incorrect here.

B. than the setting of -> "Establishing goals" is not parallel with "the setting of goals". Incorrect.

C. from -> Incorrect comparison of "Establishing goals" to "goals".

D. from setting -> different from is used for nouns, "the setting of goals". Let's keep it.

E. from the setting of -> "Establishing goals" is not parallel with "the setting of goals". Incorrect.

So, I think D.

Establishing goals for a nonprofit organization is often different than setting goals for a profit-making enterprise because the stakeholders of the former may be more varied.

Pre-thinking: This seems to be a decision between different than v/s different from.
'Different from' is better suited in the comparison mentioned in the statement. 'Different than' is usually correct when a sentence compares a noun and a clause.

A. than setting

B. than the setting of

C. from

D. from setting
'setting' is required after 'from' to make the right comparison.

E. from the setting of

IMO Answer should be Option D.
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Can we use ellipsis in (C) to substitute "establishing" in (C) to make the comparison "establishing goals for a non profit" to "(establishing) goals for a profit"?
AndrewN

No, it does not quite work in the sentence at hand, lakshya14, considering that establishing goals is a gerund, and we anticipate a second gerundive phrase to parallel the first after the verb is. If we wanted to allow one action to carry over as an understood element into a second part, we would write a sentence that placed both items ahead of the verb. Consider:

Running slow rather than [running] fast is more difficult, since the strain on slow-twitch muscle fibers is more pronounced when engaging in prolonged movements.

As much as possible, you want to keep comparisons tight on the GMAT™. When in doubt, play it safe. Shortcuts often prove too short and end up being incorrect.

I hope that helps. Thank you for thinking to ask me.

- Andrew
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