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DmitryFarber
I have more love for pies than my brothers do.

Here, we are still using “do” to stand in for the preceding verb phrase: in this case, “have love for pies.” (We can substitute the verb phrase without including the comparative word “more.”) We don’t want to use the word “have”—it would not sound great to say “I have more love for pies than my brothers have.”

So we can already see how the word “do” can stand in for the word “have.” This is NOT the case if “have” is used to indicate the present perfect, as in the following:

I have been going to the gym lately.

Now, if I want to compare myself to my brothers, I will need to use the present perfect for both my verb and theirs. I do this by saying “have” twice.

I have been going to the gym more than my brothers have.

The second “have” (at the end of the sentence) functions just like “do” in the present tense does. It stands for the verb phrase “have been going to the gym.”

Hi DmitryFarber vineetgupta RonPurewal

This post is really very helpful. However, I came across another official question in which present perfect tense/ linking verb logic does not work. Can you please throw some light on this?
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Kushchokhani

Hi DmitryFarber vineetgupta RonPurewal

This post is really very helpful. However, I came across another official question in which present perfect tense/ linking verb logic does not work. Can you please throw some light on this?

Nice observation. The correct answer from your example is below (first element in blue, second element in red):
Since 1990 the global economy has grown more than it did during the 10,000 years from the beginning of agriculture to 1950.

In this example, the difference is that we need simple past tense for the second element of the comparison. The first element correctly uses present perfect HAS+GROWN to communicate that the action started in the past and continues into the present (since 1990), but we cannot use present perfect in the second element because the time indicator (from the beginning of agriculture to 1950) communicates that the action is is done. The implied verb in the second element is "DID GROW" or "GREW" - both simple past tense.

It is generally okay for the verb tenses to be different so long as the verbs are supplied in each element of the comparison - for a good explanation on this topic see GMATGuruNY post here https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-gyrfalco ... l#p2724338
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Kushchokhani

Hi DmitryFarber vineetgupta RonPurewal

This post is really very helpful. However, I came across another official question in which present perfect tense/ linking verb logic does not work. Can you please throw some light on this?

Nice observation. The correct answer from your example is below (first element in blue, second element in red):
Since 1990 the global economy has grown more than it did during the 10,000 years from the beginning of agriculture to 1950.

In this example, the difference is that we need simple past tense for the second element of the comparison. The first element correctly uses present perfect HAS+GROWN to communicate that the action started in the past and continues into the present (since 1990), but we cannot use present perfect in the second element because the time indicator (from the beginning of agriculture to 1950) communicates that the action is is done. The implied verb in the second element is "DID GROW" or "GREW" - both simple past tense.

It is generally okay for the verb tenses to be different so long as the verbs are supplied in each element of the comparison - for a good explanation on this topic see GMATGuruNY post here https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-gyrfalco ... l#p2724338
Looking at your explanation, I conclude that Ron's rule is valid only for two clauses with same tense. If tenses are different, that rule won't apply.
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Kushchokhani


I'm not sure quite what "Ron's rule" refers to. However, it's true in general that we can have parallel verbs in different tenses, if that's what the meaning/logic dictates. In those cases, yes, we might have "have" to indicate present perfect in one verb, while we might have "had" or "did/will" to indicate some other tense. This is quite normal. For instance, I could say "I have gone to the gym more times this year than I did in 2020 and 2021 combined." (Hmm, I wonder why. ;) )
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Please provide a strong reason to prefer D over C?
Also, in D what does 'do' stand for? if it does stand for 'have' then how does it differ than option C?
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Please provide a strong reason to prefer D over C?
Also, in D what does 'do' stand for? if it does stand for 'have' then how does it differ than option C?
I don't think there is a strong reason to choose (D) over (C).

"Do" means "have."

This is an older GMAT SC question from a time when the quality of SC questions wasn't as high as it is today. This is a low quality question.
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Can someone please explain? I think that the word "for" is missing in all the options...

D: "... THAN DO (ok i understand) "FOR" the particulars of the plan"
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Can someone please explain? I think that the word "for" is missing in all the options...

D: "... THAN DO (ok i understand) "FOR" the particulars of the plan"
Hi valeriacastro11.

An additional "for" is not needed in this sentence.

The comparison is between the significance "the guiding principles of the tax plan could have" and the significance "the particulars of the plan" have "for" ONE THING, "the economy."

So, we need just one "for," the one in "for the economy."
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valeriacastro11
Can someone please explain? I think that the word "for" is missing in all the options...

D: "... THAN DO (ok i understand) "FOR" the particulars of the plan"

Hello valeriacastro11,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the comparison in this sentence between the significance of the guiding principles of the tax plan and the significance of the particulars of the plan, not between the significance the principles have for the economy and for something else, so a second "for" is not needed.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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