Last visit was: 18 Nov 2025, 23:41 It is currently 18 Nov 2025, 23:41
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
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2   3   4 
555-605 Level|   Comparisons|                           
User avatar
StringArgs
User avatar
Joined: 08 Dec 2021
Last visit: 06 Apr 2023
Posts: 53
Own Kudos:
13
Given Kudos: 39
Status:Patience
Location: India
Posts: 53
Kudos: 13
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a 22 Sep 2022, 07:53
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
sayantanc2k

Prices "are" higher now than they "were" a year ago is CORRECT, but "were" cannot be omitted because "are" is different from "were": Prices "are" higher now than they "were" a year ago is INCORRECT.

I do not see any difference between using and not using "of".
Show more

Hi sayantanc2k,

Can you explain why in this question https://gmatclub.com/forum/analysts-and-media-executives-predict-the-coming-year-to-be-321757.html#p2501150 we omit the verb ( I understand that 'had been' would be incorrect but why isnt 'was' repeated. the 'will be' cannot apply to previous year)
User avatar
PranjalJ
User avatar
Joined: 18 Apr 2020
Last visit: 25 Jan 2023
Posts: 23
Own Kudos:
10
Given Kudos: 139
Location: Germany
Schools: INSEAD Aug 22 intake IMD IESE'23 HEC LBS '23
GPA: 4
Schools: INSEAD Aug 22 intake IMD IESE'23 HEC LBS '23
Posts: 23
Kudos: 10
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a 13 Nov 2022, 07:44
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATNinja
Shiv2016, I think part of the confusion is that there's a typo in the OP: there's no comma before the "and" in the OG version of this question. Here's the corrected version:

Quote:
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.

(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise
(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising

So (B) is correct, and the comma is a non-issue. :)

Quote:
Also can this be a correct version of this sentence?

Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago.

In real life, your sentence would be completely fine, in my opinion. But if we're being really strict and literal with this particular OG question, it's definitely not ideal: it sounds like we're comparing the prices themselves to last year, and that's not logical. More importantly, there's a better alternative available that makes the comparison much clearer: "Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than those of a year ago..." The correct version sharpens the comparison between old prices and new prices.
Show more

Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last because refiners are paying about $5 a barrel more for crude oil than they were last year.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/heating-oil- ... 95234.html

This question addresses the same problem but we do not use "those of last year". Could you please tell me what am I missing? Why option A (Prices at producer level) is incorrect if it is following the same rule used in "Heating oil..." question.
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 7,445
Own Kudos:
69,780
 [1]
Given Kudos: 2,060
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,445
Kudos: 69,780
 [1]
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a 01 Dec 2022, 20:16
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
PranjalJ
Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last because refiners are paying about $5 a barrel more for crude oil than they were last year.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/heating-oil- ... 95234.html

This question addresses the same problem but we do not use "those of last year". Could you please tell me what am I missing? Why option A (Prices at producer level) is incorrect if it is following the same rule used in "Heating oil..." question.
Show more
The difference is that this question specifically refers to the current prices ("Prices are 1.3 percent higher now"), so it makes sense to compare the prices of today to the prices of a year ago.

In the phrase "Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher", we have a present tense verb ("are expected"), but at the same time we're referring to something that's expected to happen in the future. That means that we must be referring to "heating-oil prices" in general, as opposed to comparing prices from two distinct times.

If we changed the heating-oil sentence to something like, "Current heating-oil prices are higher...," then it would be closer to what we have here. But that's an awfully subtle distinction and not one that's worth worrying about too much.

It might seem reasonable to try to analyze the official questions and come up with a list of rules to apply to questions on the test, but those efforts are usually counterproductive, unfortunately. The invented "rules" almost never apply universally, and trying to apply those "rules" tends to distract test-takers from their real job: thinking carefully about meaning and finding the best of the five choices you're given in any particular SC question -- even if the best choice isn't quite perfect.

I hope that helps!
User avatar
Taulark1
User avatar
Joined: 06 Jan 2017
Last visit: 15 Mar 2025
Posts: 128
Own Kudos:
43
 [1]
Given Kudos: 750
Posts: 128
Kudos: 43
 [1]
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a 01 Dec 2022, 23:30
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
egmat , here in options A and C although they are wrong, the comparison seems fine right ?

Prices are higher now than a year ago.
Which can be translated as - Prices at the producer level are higher now than <prices at the producer level> a year ago

Really appreciate the help!
:)
User avatar
egmat
User avatar
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,108
Own Kudos:
32,884
 [1]
Given Kudos: 700
GMAT Date: 08-19-2020
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,108
Kudos: 32,884
 [1]
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a 02 Dec 2022, 04:36
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Taulark1
egmat , here in options A and C although they are wrong, the comparison seems fine right ?

Prices are higher now than a year ago.
Which can be translated as - Prices at the producer level are higher now than <prices at the producer level> a year ago

Really appreciate the help!
:)
Show more

Hey Taulark1

Happy to help.


Yes, that is CORRECT! Fantastic observation. Kudos! Here's some official confirmation on the side ;) : https://gmatclub.com/forum/heating-oil- ... ml#p603196

Just one small edit: Prices at the producer level are higher now than <prices at the producer level were> a year ago

Keep up the good work!


Happy Learning!

Abhishek
User avatar
ellenckh
User avatar
Joined: 10 Sep 2022
Last visit: 16 Dec 2023
Posts: 19
Own Kudos:
3
Given Kudos: 128
Location: China
Schools: HBS
GPA: 3.92
Schools: HBS
Posts: 19
Kudos: 3
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a 25 Jan 2023, 19:53
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Hello Everyone!

This is a great example of a sentence that focuses on idiom structure and comparisons! Let's start by taking a quick look over each option, and highlight any major differences in orange:

Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.

(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise
(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising

After a quick glance over the options, a few key differences jump out:

1. than vs. as (idiom structure)
2. a year ago / those of a year ago / they were a year ago (parallelism with comparisons)
3. even though / despite (transitions)
4. raised / raising / raise (verb tense)

Let's start with #1 on our list: than vs. as. No matter which one we choose, it will eliminate 2-3 options rather quickly, so let's start there. This is an issue of idiom structure. Whenever we see comparative language (in this case, the word "higher"), we know that the sentence is comparing two items and must be worded a certain way:

X is higher than Y = CORRECT
X is higher as Y = WRONG

Let's see which options do this correctly, and eliminate the ones that do not:

(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise
(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising

We can eliminate options D & E because they don't follow the proper "X is higher than Y" idiom structure. That was easy!

Now, let's move on to #2 on our list: parallelism with comparisons. Whenever we compare two items by using the idiom structure "X is higher than Y," the X and Y in the idiom need to be parallel. Let's look at the original sentence closely to determine what two items it's comparing:

Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.

We can see that the sentence should compare the prices today versus prices from a year ago. Let's make sure each option compares similar things:

(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised

This is INCORRECT because it compares the prices today to a year ago, which isn't parallel. You cannot compare prices to years - they're not the same thing!

(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising

This is CORRECT! The word "those" clearly refers to prices, so this is comparing the prices today to the prices from last year, which is parallel!

(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising

This is also INCORRECT because it compares prices to years, which aren't parallel items.


There you have it - option B is the correct choice! It's the only one that compares two like items, and it uses the correct idiom structure for comparisons!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.
Show more

What is the usage of "those of" here? Shouldn't you usually put those of + noun? "those of a year ago" sounds a bit awkward to me. For example, I would say that prices of corn is higher than those of soybean.
User avatar
KarishmaB
User avatar
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 16,267
Own Kudos:
76,984
Given Kudos: 482
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,267
Kudos: 76,984
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a 26 Jan 2023, 22:41
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
ellenckh
EMPOWERgmatVerbal
Hello Everyone!

This is a great example of a sentence that focuses on idiom structure and comparisons! Let's start by taking a quick look over each option, and highlight any major differences in orange:

Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.

(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise
(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising

After a quick glance over the options, a few key differences jump out:

1. than vs. as (idiom structure)
2. a year ago / those of a year ago / they were a year ago (parallelism with comparisons)
3. even though / despite (transitions)
4. raised / raising / raise (verb tense)

Let's start with #1 on our list: than vs. as. No matter which one we choose, it will eliminate 2-3 options rather quickly, so let's start there. This is an issue of idiom structure. Whenever we see comparative language (in this case, the word "higher"), we know that the sentence is comparing two items and must be worded a certain way:

X is higher than Y = CORRECT
X is higher as Y = WRONG

Let's see which options do this correctly, and eliminate the ones that do not:

(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised
(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising
(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising
(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise
(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising

We can eliminate options D & E because they don't follow the proper "X is higher than Y" idiom structure. That was easy!

Now, let's move on to #2 on our list: parallelism with comparisons. Whenever we compare two items by using the idiom structure "X is higher than Y," the X and Y in the idiom need to be parallel. Let's look at the original sentence closely to determine what two items it's comparing:

Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.

We can see that the sentence should compare the prices today versus prices from a year ago. Let's make sure each option compares similar things:

(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised

This is INCORRECT because it compares the prices today to a year ago, which isn't parallel. You cannot compare prices to years - they're not the same thing!

(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising

This is CORRECT! The word "those" clearly refers to prices, so this is comparing the prices today to the prices from last year, which is parallel!

(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising

This is also INCORRECT because it compares prices to years, which aren't parallel items.


There you have it - option B is the correct choice! It's the only one that compares two like items, and it uses the correct idiom structure for comparisons!


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

What is the usage of "those of" here? Shouldn't you usually put those of + noun? "those of a year ago" sounds a bit awkward to me. For example, I would say that prices of corn is higher than those of soybean.
Show more

Consider this:

Prices are higher now than prices of a year ago.
We are comparing prices now with prices of a year ago - seems all ok.

We could write it as: Prices are higher now than a year ago.
This is fine too and tells us the same thing.
User avatar
Elodie00die
User avatar
Joined: 04 Apr 2023
Last visit: 12 Jan 2025
Posts: 7
Given Kudos: 16
Location: China
Posts: 7
Kudos: 0
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a 23 May 2023, 06:52
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
sayantanc2k
manhasnoname
DmitryFarber
zoezhuyan, I agree with my colleague Ron Purewal (cited above) that the comparisons in A and C aren't necessarily faulty. There are other reasons to eliminate those choices. However, I want to make a slight correction to your analysis above. Your use of "that of" or "those of" in parentheses makes it appear that the implied comparison is between two nouns. Actually, your choices should read ("they were") or ("it was"). The comparison is actually between two adverbial modifiers. Prices are different now than they were last year. This is important because I can't say something like this:

American crows are larger today than in ancient China.

If we filled in "those," this might make sense: "American crows are larger today than those (crows) in ancient China." However, the actual implied meaning here is a comparison between two modifiers: "today" and "in ancient China." "American crows are larger today than (they were) in ancient China." This would make it seem that American crows existed in ancient China!


Going by your logic, OA doesn't make sense, does it?

The choice should have been "than they were ..." . Am I correct?

The OA compares nouns ( prices now and prices of an year ago.) If the comparison were between clauses , then "they were" would be required. Clause comparison allows omission of repeated parts in some cases, but not in this example. Please see my post above.

Noun comparison: Prices now is higher than prices then.
Clause comparison: Prices are now higher than they were an year ago. (omission not allowed; "were" does not occur elsewhere in the sentence.)
Clause comparison: Prices were higher an year ago than prices were a couple of years ago (omission allowed, since "prices were" already occurs in the sentence.)
Show more

But in another OG question, 'heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last' is correct. Here we omit the 'they were', right?
User avatar
yeloo
User avatar
Joined: 05 May 2023
Last visit: 05 Feb 2024
Posts: 12
Own Kudos:
5
Given Kudos: 57
GMAT 1: 700 Q50 V35
GMAT 1: 700 Q50 V35
Posts: 12
Kudos: 5
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a 02 Jul 2023, 11:30
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
egmat GMATNinja DmitryFarber

Okay so i have a silly question.

from what i understand in (B)
drought in south are hurting crops and therefore raising corn and soybean prices
are hurting crops is a verb, but raising does not have a to be verb before it so it is NOT acting as a verb
so how can these two be parallel

While in A
we have raised which acts as a verb so ideally hurting and raised are parallel

Please correct my understanding
Many Thanks in advance!



Arlene0504
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised corn and soybean prices.


(A) than a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raised

(B) than those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south are hurting crops and therefore raising

(C) than a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising

(D) as those of a year ago and are going down, even though floods in the Midwest and drought in the south hurt crops and therefore raise

(E) as they were a year ago and are going down, despite floods in the Midwest and drought in the south, and are hurting crops and therefore raising





Show Spoiler
Producer Level

(A) Comparison (X higher than Y); Verb / Meaning (raised)

(B) CORRECT

(C) Comparison (X higher than Y); Structure / Meaning

(D) Comparison (X higher as Y)

(E) Comparison (X higher as Y); Structure / Meaning

First glance

The first word switches between than and as. The sentence will contain a comparison; should the comparison idiom use than or as?

Issues

(1) Comparison: X higher than Y; X higher as Y

The first three answers use than and the final two use as. Which should it be? Also, check that the comparison is an apples-to-apples comparison.

The correct idiom is either higher than or as high as. This sentence uses higher, so the correct pairing must be than. Eliminate answers (D) and (E).

Prices at the producer level are higher now

(A) than a year ago

(B) than those of a year ago

(C) than a year ago

What are the remaining answers comparing? Answers (A) and (C) compare now to a year ago. Answer (B) compares prices now to those (prices) of a year ago. While it can be acceptable to compare timeframes (as in OG 2017 #772 / OG 2016 #104 “this year” and “last [year]”), the more precise comparison in this problem is between the two prices: prices now versus prices of a year ago.

Answer (B) makes the proper comparison. Eliminate (A) and (C).

(2) Verb / Meaning: are hurting and therefore raised

The sentence is trying to convey a certain sequence of events: floods and drought are hurting crops and therefore causing something else to happen. This second event is caused by the first; therefore, this second event should take place at the same time as or later in time than the first event.

If crops are being hurt right now in the present, then it’s illogical to indicate that the consequence (raised prices) took place in the past. Eliminate answer (A).

(3) Structure / Meaning: and are hurting crops

Answers (C) and (E) both insert an and just before are hurting. What consequences does this have for the sentence structure?

Fix: The core sentences read:

(C) Prices are higher now than a year ago and are hurting crops…

(E) Prices are higher now as they were a year ago and are hurting crops…

In both cases, parallelism dictates that the subject prices must pair with the verb are hurting. In other words, the sentence indicates that the current prices are hurting crops. This is illogical. The floods and drought, not the prices, are hurting crops.

Eliminate answers (C) and (E) for faulty meaning.

The Correct Answer

Correct answer (B) makes a valid comparison between prices now and those (prices) of a year ago. It also clearly conveys the sequence of events: floods…and drought are…hurting crops now, and therefore (are) raising prices (also now).

*Note: the official explanation indicates that the word hurt, in answer (D), is in the simple past. The word hurt can also be simple present: floods and drought hurt crops (today or in general in the present) and therefore raise prices (again, today or in general). Answer (D) is still incorrect, but not for this particular reason stated in the official explanation.

Logical predication; Verb form

The sentence as written makes an illogical comparison between prices at the producer level and a time period (a year ago); surely the intended comparison is between such prices now and those of a year ago. The clause at the end of the sentence states that flooding and a drought are hurting crops, and as a result of this, they have raised prices of certain crops. Are hurting is in the present progressive tense, indicating an ongoing process; raised is in the simple past tense, indicating a completed action. It would be more appropriate to use the present progressive tense here as well, [are] raising.

(D) The comparative adjective higher requires the comparative term than instead of as; the tenses of the verbs in the latter half of the sentence, hurt (simple past) and raise (simple present), do not work together logically.
Show more
User avatar
AjiteshArun
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,949
Own Kudos:
5,080
 [1]
Given Kudos: 732
Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Posts: 5,949
Kudos: 5,080
 [1]
Prices at the producer level are only 1.3 percent higher now than a 02 Jul 2023, 12:54
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
yeloo
drought in south are hurting crops and therefore raising corn and soybean prices
are hurting crops is a verb, but raising does not have a to be verb before it so it is NOT acting as a verb
so how can these two be parallel
Show more
Hi yeloo,

The are is understood.

1. even though X and Y are hurting crops and (are) therefore raising prices

If you want, you can look at this structure as "even though X and Y are (hurting and raising)".
   1   2   3   4 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7445 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
234 posts
miag
188 posts