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655-705 Level|   Comparisons|   Pronouns|      
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lostboy
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The local consulting company has a budget about the same as the 12 Oct 2018, 16:52
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sorry could someone please explain how the usage of "whom" in E is correct?
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satya2029
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The local consulting company has a budget about the same as the 12 Oct 2018, 21:48
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aragonn

Official Text Explanation


First, look at the comparison of budgets. Logically, we have to compare companies to companies or budgets to budgets; we can’t compare one company to the budget of another.

Choice (A) compares a budget to a set of companies. This is incorrect.

The other four choices, in wordier or more concise ways, compare budgets to budgets.

Now, look at the pronouns. The “local consulting company” presumably has multiple employees, but as a noun, it is a single collective noun and requires a singular pronoun. Choice (D) uses the plural pronoun “they” for this company; that choice is incorrect.

In choice (B), we have “as the largest consulting firms … have, as the two leading firms do.” The verb “have” is correct and the verb “do” is wrong. This choice is incorrect.

Choice (C) is the longest answer: it verges on redundant to repeat the word “budget” in the first section of the sentence. It also opts to have two clauses and chooses an indirect “there is” construction in the second clause. The whole thing is distended and awkward. While it’s grammatically correct, it’s littered with rhetorically poor options. This is far from optimal.

Choice (E), by comparison, is sleek and efficient. It cleverly uses the demonstrative pronoun “those” to set up a correct comparison. Furthermore, rather than separate clauses, it elegantly sets up parallelism between direct objects: the local company “has a budget . . . but a workforce.” This choice is not only grammatical correct but also entirely rhetorically successful.

Choice (E) is the best of the five answers here.
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Thanks for posting the explanation:)
In the option E, I think Ellipses(have) is at play. "Such as the two leading firms(have)."
Please enlighten us:)
Thanks,
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Pasharma1
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The local consulting company has a budget about the same as the 10 Mar 2019, 03:22
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B C and E all use plural pronouns to refer to the singular ‘workforce’, so they’re all wrong.



Now looking at A and D.



D has a lot of ambiguity in what the pronoun ‘they’ is referring to, so it’s a pretty poor choice.



A is the right answer.
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hovhannesmkrtchyan
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The local consulting company has a budget about the same as the 15 Apr 2021, 06:04
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How can those of the largest consulting firms be correct in this question ?

Those (plural) cannot refer to budget (singular). In this case we have to repeat the noun 'budgets'. Please address this issue.
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The local consulting company has a budget about the same as the 11 Jan 2024, 05:30
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Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

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