Like a chess player playing an important match, a good business

Question

Like a chess player playing an important match, a good business executive should always be thinking several moves ahead .

A. Like a chess player playing an important match, a good business executive should always be thinking several moves ahead
 
B. As a chess player in an important match, a good business executive should always be thinking several moves ahead
 
C. A good business executive should always be thinking several moves ahead, like a chess player is playing an important match
 
D. A good business executive, like a chess player playing an important match, should be thinking several moves ahead all the time
 
E. Like a chess player is thinking several moves ahead, a good business executive should also do so

AndrewN · Answer

Hello, everyone. This is a fun little question, one that places a  like  versus  as  comparison front and center, but there are other points of consideration as well. How about we take a closer look?

First off, the  like  comparison is correct here—a chess player and a business executive are being compared, not their actions. (A similar sentence that used  as  might start,  Just as a chess player thinks several moves ahead while playing an important match, so should...  The comparison would then be drawn from the action,  thinks .) So far, so good. About the only cause for hesitance comes with the placement of  always  between  should  and  be . I know some grammarians are picky about splitting verb forms. Although it does not bother me, I would want to check other answer choices to compare.

There is no verb in the opening phrase, so the sentence incorrectly uses  as , unless it means to convey that a good business executive needs to moonlight as a chess player—e.g.,  George Foreman, although heavyweight world champion of boxing at one time, did not enjoy nearly as much success in the ring as he did later  as a businessman , selling grilling machines.  The sentence seems to want to compare the two professions, though, making this one an easy elimination.

It is funny how a helping verb as tiny as  is  could derail a comparison, but such is the case here. The part about the executive  thinking  is a noun phrase— thinking several moves ahead —the part about the chess player  playing  is a verb phrase— is playing an important match . Delete  is , and the structure gets tightened up. In any case, the word  is  is extraneous, and in SC, we only want to introduce extra words if they are necessary.

I considered this one for a moment before I chose the original sentence. Why? The comparison here interrupts the sentence, making it slightly harder to follow. (That is, we have to suspend our thoughts about the executive for a moment to hear about a chess player.) But what made me less comfortable was the change from the one-word  always  in (A) to the three-word  all the time  in this option, not to mention the distance between the action of  thinking  and the adverbial modifier. There are two doubts here, so the safer option is the original sentence.

The use of  like  is inappropriate here, and  do so  at the end of the sentence reinforces the notion that actions are being compared, not people. See the example I gave under (A) for a sentence that would correctly draw an action-to-action comparison.

In the end, the choice should come down to (A) or (D), and, as discussed above, the former is a little safer than the latter, so we ought to get behind it.

I hope my analysis proves useful to a few GMAT Clubbers. Good luck with your studies, everyone.

- Andrew

Kinshook · Answer

Like a chess player playing an important match, a good business executive should always be thinking several moves ahead .

A. Like a chess player playing an important match, a good business executive should always be thinking several moves ahead 
 
B.  As  a chess player in an important match, a good business executive should always be thinking several moves ahead
Verb is missing with As. Incorrect

C. A good business executive should always be thinking several moves ahead,  like  a chess player  is playing  an important match
 
D. A good business executive, like a chess player playing an important match, should be thinking several moves ahead  all the time 
 
E.  Like  a chess player  is thinking  several moves ahead, a good business executive should also do so

IMO A

zhanbo · Answer

It is amazing that the very first post of yours is a well-formatted practice question! I have not figured out how to do so myself.

(A) The use of "like“ as a preposition is appropriate. Take note of the verb tense ("should be thinking several moves ahead") as such emphasis on the continuousness may be a bit overkill. This concern is moot when we see that other options also use "be thinking".

(B) "As", when used as a preposition, signalize the capacity / title of the noun it modifies. It is unsubstantiated to claim that a good executive is necessarily acting in the capacity of a chess player.

(C) "Like" cannot be used as a conjunction.

(D) There are no glaring errors, and we do see such sentence constructions from time to time. 
But, in comparison with (A), it uses more words without gaining anything valuable (in clarity or style) in return. 
"Shorter is better". (A) wins.

(E) see (C).

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  zhanbo . I read your post yesterday and felt compelled to create a post of my own  that details how to post a new question to the forum . I was also confused for some time about how to go about the process.

I hope you read the post with interest and start sharing content of your own. I look forward to seeing what you might come up with.

- Andrew

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

Like a chess player playing an important match, a good business

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Like a chess player playing an important match, a good business

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards