Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 01:58 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 01:58
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
chuabaka
User avatar
Joined: 26 Sep 2020
Last visit: 03 Nov 2020
Posts: 8
Given Kudos: 5
Posts: 8
Kudos: 0
"plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than are fungi" 26 Sep 2020, 11:43
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Is this sentence correct? It sounds weird to me. Also, is this sentence grammatically correct too: "plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than fungi are"?

Thanks!

Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Verbal Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block below for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
User avatar
yashikaaggarwal
User avatar
Senior Moderator - Masters Forum
Joined: 19 Jan 2020
Last visit: 17 Jul 2025
Posts: 3,086
Own Kudos:
3,102
Given Kudos: 1,510
Location: India
Schools: Cranfield (A) Warwick MiM "23 (M)
GPA: 4
WE:Analyst (Internet and New Media)
Schools: Cranfield (A) Warwick MiM "23 (M)
Posts: 3,086
Kudos: 3,102
"plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than are fungi" 26 Sep 2020, 12:07
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Its ambiguous.
There can be two meanings of this sentence:
1) plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than plants are in acquiring fungi.
or,
2) plants are more efficient in acquiring carbon than the fungi efficiency in carbon.

So no its not correct. Sentence is meant to be concise and clear
User avatar
Abhi077
User avatar
SC Moderator
Joined: 25 Sep 2018
Last visit: 18 Apr 2025
Posts: 1,084
Own Kudos:
2,403
Given Kudos: 1,665
Location: United States (CA)
Concentration: Finance, Strategy
Schools: Rotman '21 Jindal '21 Stern '21
GPA: 3.97
WE:Investment Banking (Finance: Investment Banking)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: Rotman '21 Jindal '21 Stern '21
Posts: 1,084
Kudos: 2,403
"plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than are fungi" 26 Sep 2020, 12:16
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The structure here is, X is more efficient than Y, so 'are' is not needed at all since the comparison is between two nouns and not clauses. so the structure isn't correct gramatically.

This question is discussed here in detail: https://gmatclub.com/forum/plants-are-m ... 96548.html

Hope this helps :)
User avatar
Hovkial
User avatar
Joined: 23 Apr 2019
Last visit: 24 Nov 2022
Posts: 803
Own Kudos:
2,409
Given Kudos: 202
Status:PhD trained. Education research, management.
Posts: 803
Kudos: 2,409
"plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than are fungi" 28 Sep 2020, 22:29
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
You asked about the correctness of the sentence fragment:

"plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than are fungi"

The use of "are" is not misplaced. However, the fragment has some issues. It does not provide a verb action for the fungi. It is unclear what the fungi are doing. The comparisons are unclear. If we look at the full sentence (reproduced below), we will see that plants are being compared to fungi.

The original sentence, from which this sentence fragment is taken, provides more contextual details. Here is the sentence (from an official guide):

https://gmatclub.com/forum/plants-are-m ... 96548.html

"Plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than are fungi, in the form of carbon dioxide, and converting it to energy-rich sugars."

Here we can see the full meaning implied in the sentence. The meaning implies that the fungi are not as efficient as plants are at acquiring carbon. This sentence is incorrectly written. It does not directly link the fungi to the verb action of "acquiring carbon". It then confounds the meaning by adding the phrase "in the form of carbon dioxide". The comma separates the action by plants from the action.

The correct sentence is answer choice (C):

"(C) Plants are more efficient than fungi at acquiring carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, and converting it to energy-rich sugars."

Now we can clearly see the appropriate comparison. Two nouns ('plants' and 'fungi') are directly compared to each other with respect to their ability to acquire carbon. The clause "in the form of carbon dioxide" provides more details about the form of the captured carbon. The final phrase "converting it to energy-rich sugars" completes the details of the action of acquiring carbon".
User avatar
EducationAisle
User avatar
Joined: 27 Mar 2010
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 3,891
Own Kudos:
3,579
 [1]
Given Kudos: 159
Location: India
Schools: ISB
GPA: 3.31
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: ISB
Posts: 3,891
Kudos: 3,579
 [1]
"plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than are fungi" 28 Sep 2020, 22:56
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
chuabaka
Is this sentence correct? It sounds weird to me. Also, is this sentence grammatically correct too: "plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than fungi are"?
Show more
Hi chuabaka, yes both these sentences are correct:

plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than fungi are

plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than are fungi


For example:

Peter is a better driver than James is.

This is equivalent to:

Peter is a better driver than is James.

A similar official question:

It is characteristic of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as it is of virtually every great American museum, that the taste of local collectors has played at least as large a part in the formation of its collections as have the judgments of the art historian.
User avatar
vv65
User avatar
Joined: 01 Mar 2015
Last visit: 10 Nov 2025
Posts: 534
Own Kudos:
395
 [1]
Given Kudos: 774
Location: India
GMAT 1: 740 Q47 V44
GMAT 1: 740 Q47 V44
Posts: 534
Kudos: 395
 [1]
"plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than are fungi" 30 Sep 2020, 23:40
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
chuabaka
Is this sentence correct? It sounds weird to me. Also, is this sentence grammatically correct too: "plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than fungi are"?

Thanks!
Show more

"Plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon dioxide than are fungi" is perfect :)
Learn to accept it as right, stop thinking of it as weird.

"Plants are more efficient at acquiring carbon than fungi are" is probably fine too, but the first sentence (with the reversed subject-verb) is more common and preferred.

See these examples from the New York Times (I just googled to find them):

- Many More Are Jobless Than Are Unemployed.
- Research suggests that men are more likely to be attacked by mosquitoes than are women.
- (less wealthy) people were more generous, charitable, trusting and helpful to others than were those with more wealth.

Posted from my mobile device

Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Verbal Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!
Moderators:
miag
188 posts
u1983
Current Student
710 posts
MikeScarn
Current Student
275 posts