OE

Compare to is used to point out or imply resemblances between objects regarded as essentially of a different order;

Compare with is used mainly to point out differences between objects regarded as essentially of the same order.

Since we wish to point out the differences between the Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art and the Metropolitan Museum’s collection, we should use “compared with”.

The correct response is (D). This is a Comparison question, and the correct choice must compare the Cluny’s collection to the Metropolitan’s collection. “That” is used here as a pronoun referring to the Metropolitan Museum’s collection. The singular verb “is” correctly agrees with the subject “collection” and the use of “the former” avoids pronoun ambiguity by referring back to the Metropolitan Museum’s collection. The past tense verb “required” is appropriate since the meaning of the sentence is offering an explanation for a present-day situation by explaining what happened in the past.

If you chose (A), the verb “were” is plural and does not agree with the subject of the sentence “collection.” Always start a long-winded sentence correction by identifying the subject and its predicate verb.

If you chose (B), the final clause beginning with “requiring…” is somewhat ambiguous. It could be referring to the Cluny’s collection, which is NOT the correct meaning of the sentence.

If you chose (C), this choice makes a correct comparison, but alters the meaning of the sentence. The pronoun “it” can only refer back to the Cluny Museum’s collection, but it is not the Cluny that required more money, but rather the Metropolitan.

If you chose (E), “were” is a plural verb and does not agree with its subject “collection.” Additionally, the phrase “that, by and large, since it…” is not grammatically correct. We would need to have a verb after the word “that.” The pronoun “it” is ambiguous here. It must clearly refer to the Metropolitan for the sentence to make sense.


http://www.gmatpracticequestions.com/gm ... tice-test/
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The Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, such as fifteenth-century tapestries and Gothic sculptures, that were displayed since 1843 is much more impressive when compared to the Metropolitan Museum’s medieval collection that, by and large, required more funding in order to compete on the international stage and not to concede its reputation as one of the world’s foremost museums.

A. The Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, such as fifteenth-century tapestries and Gothic sculptures, that were displayed since 1843 is much more impressive when compared to the Metropolitan Museum’s medieval collection that, by and large, requires more funding in order to compete on the international stage--- SV agreement issue

B. The Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, including fifteenth-century tapestries and Gothic sculptures, displayed since 1843 is much more impressive when compared with a similar collection by the Metropolitan Museum, requiring more funding in order to compete on the international stage---we need present perfect ...

C. As compared to the Metropolitan Museum’s, the Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, which has been displayed since 1843, is much more impressive, by and large, since it has required more funding in order to compete on the international stage--"It" does not have proper antecedent

D. Compared with that displayed by the Metropolitan Museum, the Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, such as fifteenth-century tapestries and Gothic sculptures, that has been displayed since 1843 is much more impressive, by and large, since the former required more funding in order to compete on the international stage--looks fine

E. In 1843, the Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, such as fifteenth-century tapestries and Gothic sculptures, were displayed more impressively when compared with the Metropolitan Museum’s medieval collection that, by and large, since it required more funding in order to compete on the international stage--SV issue

The Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, such as fifteenth-century tapestries and Gothic sculptures, that were displayed since 1843 is much more impressive when compared to the Metropolitan Museum’s medieval collection that, by and large, required more funding in order to compete on the international stage and not to concede its reputation as one of the world’s foremost museums.

A. The Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, such as fifteenth-century tapestries and Gothic sculptures, that were displayed since 1843 is much more impressive when compared to the Metropolitan Museum’s medieval collection that, by and large, requires more funding in order to compete on the international stage

B. The Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, including fifteenth-century tapestries and Gothic sculptures, displayed since 1843 is much more impressive when compared with a similar collection by the Metropolitan Museum, requiring more funding in order to compete on the international stage

C. As compared to the Metropolitan Museum’s, the Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, which has been displayed since 1843, is much more impressive, by and large, since it has required more funding in order to compete on the international stage :changes the meaning

D. Compared with that displayed by the Metropolitan Museum, the Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, such as fifteenth-century tapestries and Gothic sculptures, that has been displayed since 1843 is much more impressive, by and large, since the former required more funding in order to compete on the international stage

E. In 1843, the Cluny Museum’s collection of medieval art, such as fifteenth-century tapestries and Gothic sculptures, were displayed more impressively when compared with the Metropolitan Museum’s medieval collection that, by and large, since it required more funding in order to compete on the international stage

Hi,

Doesn't the modifier "Compared with that displayed by the Metropolitan Museum" modify a possessive "the Cluny Museum’s"?

My understanding is that a possessive acts as a modifier itself and cannot be modified by another modifier.

Could someone explain how "... , by and large, ..." is valid and what it means? Even though it's not necessary to know for this question, I'd be very happy if someone could elaborate :)

Look at the text and the choice A. In the text, required is a past tense verb, while in choice A, the past tense turns a present tense ' 'requires'. This is a fatal flaw unlikely to be seen on the D-day.
The subject of the Choice D is the collection displayed by the Metropolitan Museum. The choice says that the Cluny's collection is much more impressive since the former collection (by Metropolitan museum) needed extra funds in order to compete and not to concede its status. This subtly changes the meaning that the collection is trying to compete and not to concede rather than the museum doing these things.
The use of past tense 'required' is an error. By avoiding the present tense verb, the author wants to imply that the extra funding is no more required to keep up the museum's competitiveness and status and that that the said museum may not be interested in such things anymore.
Additionally to indicate that the Cluny museum's collection is more impressive because it used less fund is vulnerable. Museum collections are not judged by their budgets but by their contents and contributions.
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this is really a gmat-like question?

No, chesstitans, this one doesn't work. The use of "that" in D is problematic (it should touch the noun it's modifying and serve as an essential modifier), and the meaning in the second half isn't clear in any version of the sentence. The GMAT will also take great pains to repair the kind of "modifier traffic jam" we see in D.

"By and large," however, is fine. This is a common expression that basically means "mostly."
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A- "that", "were"
B - "requiring"
E - "were"
C - misses the whole clause -> changes meaning.

As DmitryFarber explained above, this question has some problems. I have locked this topic.
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