OFFICIAL EXPLANANTIONProject SC Butler: Day 177: Sentence Correction (SC2)
Quote:
The poetry of George Herbert is regarded by many critics as equal in quality, though less influential, than the work of his more famous contemporary John Donne.
(A) equal in quality, though less influential, than the work
(B) equal in quality to, though less influential than, the work
(C) qualitatively equal, though less influential than, that
(D) equal in quality as, though less influential than, the work
(E) of equal quality, though of less influence, than that
• HIGHLIGHTSAdjectives often take different prepositions.
We never say
equal than. Something is equal TO something.
The word
less should be paired with
than.
(On rare occasions, when the comparison is obvious and only one verb or adjective is at issue, GMAC drops the
than.
Something is less influential
than something else, not
less influential
to something else
We need an option that includes
equal ... to and
less ... than. Finally, the connection between each adjective and the work of John Dunne must be clear.
• QUICK PROCESS OF ELIMINATION• Split #1: the quality was equal TOStart with one of the adjectives—
equal.
-- How is
equal is connected to its target (the poetry of John Donne)?
We need
Herbert's poetry is regarded as equal in quality to . . . the poetry of John Donne.Options A, C, D, and E should say
equal TO but do not.
A) Herbert's poetry is regarded as
equal in quality . . .
than the work of John Donne.
C) Herbert's poetry is regarded as
qualitatively equal ...
that of John Donne.
D) Herbert's poetry is regarded as
equal in quality
as ... the work of John Donne.
E) Herbert's poetry is regarded as of
equal quality . . .
than that of John Donne.
Eliminate A, C, D, and EBy POE, the answer is (B). Check B.
Herbert's poetry is regarded as
equal in quality to . . .
the work of John Donne.
Herbert's poetry is regarded as . . . less influential than the work of John Donne.
Both constructions are correct.
That analysis may appear easy, but once we start wondering about comma placement and prepositional attachment to "the work of John Donne," this kind of question is not very easy.
• Longer POETHE PROMPTQuote:
The poetry of George Herbert is regarded by many critics as equal in quality, though less influential, than the work of his more famous contemporary John Donne.
THE OPTIONSQuote:
A) The poetry of George Herbert is regarded by many critics as equal in quality, though less influential, than the work of his more famous contemporary John Donne.
• separate each descriptor. We have
-- regarded as
equal in quality . . .
than the work of Donne.
Equal
than? NO. We need equal TO.
-- regarded as . . .
though less influential, than the work of John Donne.
The
less influential, than at least has the right words. The comma placement is a bit strange, but not worth our time.
• We are sure that
equal . . . than is wrong.
Eliminate A
Quote:
B) The poetry of George Herbert is regarded by many critics as equal in quality to, though less influential than, the work of his more famous contemporary John Donne.
• Herbert's poetry is regarded as
equal in quality
to . . .
the work of John Donne.
That construction is correct. Now, test "though less influential."
• Herbert's poetry is regarded as . . . though
less influential than, the work of John Donne.
That construction also works. The comma after than keeps "equal" from being attached to than and assures that "equal"
is correctly attached to
less influential.KEEP
Quote:
C)The poetry of George Herbert is regarded by many critics as qualitatively equal, though less influential than, that of his more famous contemporary John Donne.
• Herbert's poetry is regarded as qualitatively
equal . . . that of John Donne.
Nonsense. We need
equal to.
There is no such thing as
regard X as qualitatively equal that of Y. (I can't even think that sentence properly.)
• Herbert's poetry is regarded as . . . though less influential than, that of John Donne.
This part is okay. Notice: this part resembles its equivalent in (B).
• There is no such thing as "equal that" in this context.
Eliminate C
Quote:
D) The poetry of George Herbert is regarded by many critics as equal in quality as, though less influential than, the work of his more famous contemporary John Donne.
This answer is the trap answer.
AS . . . AS looks very tempting. Read for meaning. AS EQUAL AS?
• Herbert's poetry is regarded as
equal in quality
as ... the work of John Donne.
. . . as equal in quality AS the work of John Donne? NO.
Equal does not take "as."
-- AS . . . AS is tempting, but nonsensical because
equal is an on/off adjective.
-- Both things are equal. One thing is not as equal as another.
-- Similarly, one mouse is not as alive as another mouse. They are both alive or not alive.
Equal works the same way. You cannot compare it in a way that suggests degree.
• Herbert's poetry is regarded as . . . though
less influential than, the work of John Donne.
Like the formulation in B and C, this formulation is fine.
• Something is equal in quality TO something else.
Eliminate D
Quote:
E) The poetry of George Herbert is regarded by many critics as equal in quality, though less influential, than the work of his more famous contemporary John Donne.
• Herbert's poetry is regarded as
equal in quality . . .
than the work of John Donne.
No.
as equal in quality . . . than is nonsense. The phrase does not say anything.
• Herbert's poetry is regarded as . . . though
less influential, than the work of John Donne.
The phrasing is correct (
less takes
than) but the comma attaches
than to
equal as well as to
less influential.
The answer is BNOTESeakabuah , you noticed something that gave you pause.
I think you believe that the comparison is only about quality. (I could be confused.)
We can make a rough diagram. I am purposely leaving out "the critics."
Passive construction is hard to diagram clearly.
The poetry of George Herbert
IS REGARDED
------AS
--------equal in quality
to → →--------though
--------less influential
than → →-----------------------------------------------
→ → the work of John Donne.
The meaning is okay. Herbert's poetry is regarded as having two qualities.
Herbert's poetry is regarded as equal in quality TO the work of John Donne.
Herbert's poetry is regarded as less influential THAN the work of John Donne.
I can understand why you saw what you did.
The construction
is regarded as, though, allows for two things to be the target of "regarded as."
A similar official question is
OG Verbal Review 2020 #302.
Its OE makes me crazy.
The writer speaks at length about the idiomatic construction of one adjective but says not one word about the other adjective.
There is no mention of prepositional parallelism that must be maintained.
Some OEs are very good. Others are hard to figure out. Opacity, thy name is GMAC Sentence Correction.
Takeaways:
• Equal as an adjective takes TO. Equal never takes than.
• Less [adjective] takes
than or, rarely, nothing.
Less never takes
as.
•
as equal as does not make sense.
Equal does not admit of degree.
Something is either equal or it is not. AS . . . AS works for adjectives that have degrees.
Those kind are called "gradable" adjectives.
Very few adjectives are non-gradable: equal, enough, alive, and dead are the most common.
-- This data is as enough as that data to make a decision.
-- This poetry is as equal in quality as that poetry.
(If that bullet point did not make sense, do not worry. Just remember "equal to" and "less than.")
COMMENTSWe will return to 24 hours between the time a question is posted and the time that the OA is revealed.
My work and a couple of other details forced me change the OA reveals during this last week.
Many of you have steadily improved your critical analysis.
I am glad to see how you think about SC questions.
It helps me to teach.
Many of you are getting closer to, or have gotten closer to, a nice balance of grammar, meaning, logic, and "test sense."
Most of these explanations are very good.
close
12 Oct 2019, 01:05
51%
(01:36)
wrong 
