While the battalion was engaged in the Battle of the Bulge, its braver

Question

While the battalion was engaged in the Battle of the Bulge, its bravery under fire was  not unlike that of its Russian counterparts, who fought  off the Germans at the Siege of St. Petersburg.

(A)not unlike that of its Russian counterparts, who fought
(B)not like its Russian counterparts, who fought
(C)like its Russian counterparts and their fight
(D)like that of its Russian counterparts for fighting
(E)as that of its Russian counterparts, who fought

daagh · Accepted Answer

Yes, the answer is certainly A. You can confirm this from an OG 10 question given below whose OA is A. Therefore, I don’t think we need to entertain any doubts the authenticity of the double negative ‘not unlike’, since it has been already accepted by OG.

The problem with using ‘as’ for comparing nouns is that, it is often taken to be comparing X in the role of Y. For example, X is very good as a captain, meaning that X is very good in the role of the captain or X is very good as a finisher, meaning that he is very good in the final few slog overs. One might notice that the true essence of comparison is lost when ‘as’ is used for comparison between nouns. That is why E is not to be preferred over A.

The second point to note about this topic is that per se, the pronoun ‘its’ stands for the battalion’s. Its bravery is being compared with the bravery of Russian counterparts. It is not clear to which country does the battalion belong to. It could be Britain or France or for that matter any other country. You might see, the original OG does not mention ‘its’ and avoids the unnecessary doubts. . This is just an observation.

dinesh86 · Answer

While the battalion was engaged in the Battle of the Bulge, its bravery under fire was  not unlike that of its Russian counterparts, who fought  off the Germans at the Siege of St. Petersburg.

(A)not unlike that of its Russian counterparts, who fought - Correct
(B)not like its Russian counterparts, who fought - Wrong comparison
(C)like its Russian counterparts and their fight - Wrong comparison
(D)like that of its Russian counterparts for fighting - Change in meaning.
(E)as that of its Russian counterparts, who fought - Like instead of As is required.

ts30 · Answer

A is using double negatives - not unlike... doesn't that make it the "not to be preferred choice"? Between A and E, I chose E.

chetan2u · Answer

Hi

when we are comparing two nouns, here bravery of two set of people, we should use like and not AS..
As is used for comparison of ACTIONS..

Double negation is OK. Not unlike and like mean slightly different..
degree of similarity may be more in usage of LIKE as compared to Not unlike..

Irrespective of this minute difference, it is better to use not unlike than use as incorrectly..

mvictor · Answer

not unlike = like
bravery was like that (bravery) of Russians.
A looks good
B - compares bravery of the battalion with Russians. not good
C - same mistake
D - for fighting - A looks better.
E - incorrect usage of "as" in comparison.

A is the answer.

egghead2017 · Answer

(A)not unlike that of its Russian counterparts, who fought
(B)not like its Russian counterparts, who fought ( wrong comparison)
(C)like its Russian counterparts and their fight (wrong comparison)
(D)like that of its Russian counterparts  for fighting 
(E) as  that of its Russian counterparts, who fought

Sidharth8 · Answer

E is incorrect, since it uses ‘as’ to compare nouns.
B is very wrong. It completely reverses the meaning of the sentence.
C compares ‘bravery’ to ‘its Russian counterparts’.
D is correct but ‘for fighting’ seems awkward.
A is the better choice.

prakhar992 · Answer

daagh  sir. Evereything is okay, but is not the "while" creating contrast? Please explain.

daagh · Answer

Prakhar
does it always? While I eat my breakfast, I take tea. What is the contrast here?
It is simply a declarative word meaning 'when', a marker of simultaneity 
A true contrast will reflect one positive and one negative factor such as in 1. While A is good, B is bad, 'While I take whiskey normally, my brother takes only the Vodka". 
 --While A is good, B is good -- doesn't show any contrast. 
Similarly, in the battalion case, its bravery is not in contrast to those of Russian counterparts. One is as much as those of others.

Hope this helps.

sanjayparihar16 · Answer

Official Explanation:
Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors: 
The word "unlike" tells us that this sentence is creating a comparison. When two items are being compared, make sure they are logically similar and in parallel form. The sentence as written compares the battalion's bravery to the bravery ("that of") its Russian counterparts, which meets the requirements of a proper comparison. Presume (A) is the right choice, but look through the other choices to confirm that are no other errors that were overlooked. 
Scan and Group the Answer Choices:
(B) and (C) create an invalid comparison between the battalion's bravery and its Russian counterparts, and may be eliminated immediately. It is illogical to compare bravery to people. (A), (D), and (E) all retain the correct phrase to compare the battalion's bravery to “that of its Russian counterparts” and should therefore be examined more closely. 
Eliminate Wrong Answer Choices:
The phrase “for fighting” in (D) is ambiguous; exactly who fought off the Germans? Additionally, "like that of..." is stronger than the original "not unlike that.." and therefore changes the meaning of the sentence slightly. (E) uses an incorrect construction to make the comparison. It's correct to say "was like that of" or, in this case, "was not unlike that of"; it's never correct to say "was as that of." 
(A) is correct. 
TAKEAWAY: Comparisons are often tested on the GMAT. Look out for them, and take a moment to be clear on what exactly is being compared. Make sure the comparison is between logically similar items, and that the items are described in parallel form.

VerbalBot · Answer

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While the battalion was engaged in the Battle of the Bulge, its braver

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While the battalion was engaged in the Battle of the Bulge, its braver

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