Genghis Khan's Mongol empire was, at its peak, considerably larger tha

Question

Genghis Khan's Mongol empire was, at its peak, considerably larger than Attila's Hunnish empire, but because Attila's home base, in modern Hungary,  much closer to Western Europe than Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis posing  less of a threat to Rome.

(A) much closer to Western Europe than Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis posing
(B) much closer to Western Europe than to Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis posing
(C) much closer to Western Europe than was Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis posed
(D) was much closer to Western Europe than was Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis posed
(E) was much closer to Western Europe than Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis posed

Once again, verb is required in the comparison. I still have no idea how to choose between D and E Pls share your helps.

JS1290 · Answer

Don't we need "was" after Attila's house? I am not able to understand how the OA is C.  mikemcgarry   GMATNinjaTwo ,  GMATNinja , Could you one guys please explain why the correct answer is C and not D? My sole purpose for eliminating option A/B/C was that I thought we needed a verb right after Attila's house. Please help! Would greatly appreciate it!

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear csaluja & chesstitans , I'm happy to respond.

The best answer clearly is (D) , but chesstitans has posted the question with (C) as the OA. Either this was a sloppy mistake on his part, or the question author himself was confused; I suspect that the former is the case. As csaluja has pointed out, there's no way that (C) could be the answer. I will defer any discussion until the OA is clarified. I will remind you, chesstitans , that how you do anything is how you do everything. Here, because you weren't careful about details, you have generated confusion for others, and have created extra work for others. It is part of the habits of excellence to bring the best of yourself, as much as possible, to every statement you make. If you aspire to excellence, you would do well to embrace the habits of excellence. How you do anything is how you do everything. Does all this make sense? Mike

jaston · Answer

Genghis Khan's Mongol empire was, at its peak, considerably larger than Attila's Hunnish empire, but because Attila's home base, in modern Hungary, much closer to Western Europe than Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis posing less of a threat to Rome.

(A)  much  closer to Western Europe than Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis  posing 
(B)  much  closer to Western Europe than to Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis  posing 
(C)  much  closer to Western Europe than was Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis posed
(D)  was much  closer to Western Europe than  was  Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis posed
(E)  was much  closer to Western Europe than Genghis' Mongolian headquarters, Genghis posed

JakeRockwell · Answer

We definitely need a WAS here.The meaning of the sentence impels us to compare attila's home base and Genghis khans headquarters. Without the WAS the meaning is ambiguous. We could have 2 comparisons possible

1)Western Europe and Mongolian Headquarters

2)Mongolian Headquarters and Attila's home base(The one we need)

Since 2 meanings are possible E is incorrect.D is correct.

sushil41 · Answer

How can it be D. I think since "Mongolian headquarters" is plural, the sentence should have used "were".

TaN1213 · Answer

chesstitans ,
Between D and E, note that E changes the meaning of the sentence. 
Let A , W, and G denote the three locations 
D says distance between A and W is lesser than distance between W and G -that's why G posed lesser threat as it is farther than A is from W-intended meaning
E says distance between A and W is lesser than the distance between A and G. - changes the meaning incorrectly to render illogical inference.
Hence, D.
Hope it's clear now.

aragonn · Answer

Official Explanation 
Split #1: We have an independent clause, then the word "but": after this, we need another independent clause with Genghis as the subject. He must be followed by a full verb, "posed," not the participle "posing." Choices (A) & (B) make this mistake.

Split #2: Right after the word "but" we have the opening of a "because" clause with the subject "Attila's home base." This subject also needs a full verb. We need "was much closer." Choice (C) omits the verb.

Split #3: Finally, we have an ambiguous comparison in (E). For simplicity, let's abbreviate: X = "Attila's home base, in modern Hungary," Y = "Western Europe," and Z = "Genghis' Mongolian headquarters." Using these abbreviations, (E) says:

X was much closer to Y than Z

This could mean:

X was much closer to Y than it was to Z

or

X was much closer to Y than Z was close to Y.

We can tell from the prompt that the second meaning is the intended one, but (E) has been so shortened that it no longer allows us to resolve this ambiguity, and ambiguity is always wrong! Choice (E) is incorrect!

The only possible answer is (D).

virrr · Answer

I hope that I can help clarify this question here. You see the word headquarters can be either plural or singular. Whether it takes the plural or singular form depends entirely on the context where this word sits. E.g. The company headquarters is located in New York. I found and quoted the following from WordReference, " It would be unusual to use 'headquarters' as a plural unless you are talking about the headquarters of different companies or groups. By definition 'headquarters' is THE main location of activity, business, dealings, etc., so technically there shouldn't be more than one for any one group. "

Other similar collective nouns are premises, surroundings, and outskirts, etc.

globaldesi · Answer

(D) was much closer to Western Europe than  was Genghis' Mongolian headquarters , Genghis posed
should it not be either   were Genghis' Mongolian headquarters  or   was Genghis' Mongolian headquarter 
Or am I missing something

VerbalBot · Answer

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Genghis Khan's Mongol empire was, at its peak, considerably larger tha

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Genghis Khan's Mongol empire was, at its peak, considerably larger tha

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