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555-605 Level|   Comparisons|   Idioms/Diction/Redundancy|   Parallelism|                           
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daagh
Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as the current one.

(A) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as
(B) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are
(C) equally likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as
(D) as likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as
(E) as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are


1. The intended sentence is-- Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are (likely to exceed) the current one. We may note the ellipsis here in full action for the sake of concision. Therefore, the Answer choice E is indeed complete.


2.The first step is to eliminate all the choices that miss the action verb in the second part, namely, ‘are’. Missing the verbal word will render the comparison wrong by treating the proposed speed itself as the current one. Then the essence of proposed loses relevance. Hence A, C and E can be dumped.
Now comes the idiom ‘as X as Y’ into play, wherein ‘as…. As’ is an essential ingredient. Hence, -will be equally likely to do x as they are Y -- is unidiomatic. As likely to do x as they are Y is the correct idiom. Therefore E.

I got stuck between A and E and eliminated E for the ambiguous use of "they". It could refer to the drivers or the officials. Where did I go wrong?
As pointed out in this post and as explained in this video, pronoun ambiguity isn’t an absolute rule.

There are several posts on this thread about (A), but two issues are:

    1) We want "as likely as", not "equally likely as".
    2) (A) seems to compare drivers to the current speed limit. I wouldn't eliminate based on that alone, but the comparison is much clearer in choice (E).

So, if you ignore the pronoun non-issue, (E) is the better choice!
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

ritjn2003
Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as the current one.


(A) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as

(B) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are

(C) equally likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as

(D) as likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as

(E) as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are

Choice A: This answer choice incorrectly compares "the drivers" to "the current one"; This error is due to the omission of the verb in the second part of the comparison; when a comparison involves a tense shift, no verb can be omitted. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice B: This answer choice features the same error found in Option A. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice C: This answer choice utilizes the unidiomatic phrase "likely to"; furthermore, it is needlessly wordy and quite awkward due to the phrase "that they will". Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice D: This answer choice repeats the same idiom-related error found in Option C. Thus, this answer choice is incorrect.

Choice E: This answer choice maintains correct idiom use and conveys the intended meaning of the sentence. Thus, this answer choice is correct.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team


Hi!

Can you explain why the idiom use in answer choice E is correct. Doesn't the word following "as" have to be parallel with the other word that follows the other second "as."

For example, "as X as Y." Doesn't X and Y have to be parallel. Either they are both nouns, verbs, or preposition.

as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are. This idiom does not show parallelism with "to" as a verb and "they" as a noun.
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Doesn't the word following "as" have to be parallel with the other word that follows the other second "as."
Hi thealchemist89, for the most part, that would not happen, because in the idiom as X as Y, X and Y serve different purposes: X is generally an adjective (the attribute that the idiom is trying to emphasize), while Y is a noun (the entity whose attribute the idiom is comparing with).

For example;

He is as big as an elephant.

Big is an adjective while elephant is a noun.
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Hi GMATNinja, GMATNinjaTwo, MikeScarn, generis, hazelnut

Could you please confirm if the below sentences are correct?

When it comes to calorie content, an apple is AS good AS a mango.

When it comes to calorie content, an apple is AS good AS a mango is.
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Hi GMATNinja, GMATNinjaTwo, MikeScarn, generis, hazelnut

Could you please confirm if the below sentences are correct?

When it comes to calorie content, an apple is AS good AS a mango.

When it comes to calorie content, an apple is AS good AS a mango is.
Hi Deadpool3,

Dropping the is does not create any ambiguity, because good is an adjective. Another (similar) example:
1. He is as tall as his brother (is tall).
2. He is as tall as his brother is (tall).

(1) is very clear, so there is no need to add an is.
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Experts daagh GMATNinja CrackVerbal egmat. Please help!

I don't understand the parallelism in Option E as in How are they parallel?
My reasoning :

as likely to exceed (Infinitive) the proposed speed limit as they are (Clause)

In the above as....as structure, Infinitive is made parallel to a clause.

Thank you. :please:
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Experts daagh GMATNinja CrackVerbal egmat. Please help!

I don't understand the parallelism in Option E as in How are they parallel?
My reasoning :

as likely to exceed (Infinitive) the proposed speed limit as they are (Clause)

In the above as....as structure, Infinitive is made parallel to a clause.

Thank you. :please:
Hi rounakkedia172,

I'm not sure whether it's helpful to look at this as being a parallelism issue (this is actually an example of ellipsis). The "full" sentence is:

Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are {likely to exceed} the current one.
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Quote:
Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as the current one.


(A) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as

(B) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are

(C) equally likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as

(D) as likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as

(E) as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are

Hi AndrewN Sir,

As we discussed in other posts, look for simple and concise sentences ( make sure no other error in it).
in option A, i found :
likely to - tick
the proposed speed limit as the current one - ( only one singular, so one can only refer to speed limits; if ones ; could refer to drivers)- so no ambiguity- tick
other idiom: not sure ( so i hanged on A)

D: easy to reject ( as X as Y; X and Y are not same parts of speech and we have concise option available)
Between A and E , ( current one / they are current one). I choose A because in A i am comparing speed with speed without ambiguity .

My question:
In such situation, how can we avoid doing mistake as i did in A.
( i was not aware if equally like as could be wrong and "they" i found is not needed as there is no ambiguity in A)

please suggest
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Quote:
Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as the current one.


(A) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as

(B) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are

(C) equally likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as

(D) as likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as

(E) as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are

Hi AndrewN Sir,

As we discussed in other posts, look for simple and concise sentences ( make sure no other error in it).
in option A, i found :
likely to - tick
the proposed speed limit as the current one - ( only one singular, so one can only refer to speed limits; if ones ; could refer to drivers)- so no ambiguity- tick
other idiom: not sure ( so i hanged on A)

D: easy to reject ( as X as Y; X and Y are not same parts of speech and we have concise option available)
Between A and E , ( current one / they are current one). I choose A because in A i am comparing speed with speed without ambiguity .

My question:
In such situation, how can we avoid doing mistake as i did in A.
( i was not aware if equally like as could be wrong and "they" i found is not needed as there is no ambiguity in A)

please suggest
Hello, imSKR. Missing this question is okay. You just have to take from it what you can. First, yes, add the idiom as _____ as to your list so you recognize it the next time. That is an easy fix. The subtler issue is that we have a comparison here, and that as is used (unlike like) to compare actions. Who or what is exceeding the speed limit? Drivers who are doing something (i.e. exceeding). Thus, we are comparing an action to another action, and the extra they are, the doer of the action, is necessary. Otherwise, (A) can be read as saying,

Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as the current one [is].

I think you will agree with me that the above sentence provides a nonsensical meaning, that the current speed limit cannot exceed a proposed speed limit under any circumstances. Just laugh this one off. Choice (A) is a good trap answer; choice (E) is the correct answer.

Thank you for tagging me.

- Andrew
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(E) as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are

I understand that as....as.... is the correct construction, but why "as they are the current one" make sense?

Current one refers to current speed limit; they refers to drivers

as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as drivers are the current speed limit??

Wouldn't this choice make more sense if "as likely to exceed the proposed limited as they DO WITH the current one"

Experts please explain...
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Flozy2
(E) as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are

I understand that as....as.... is the correct construction, but why "as they are the current one" make sense?

Current one refers to current speed limit; they refers to drivers

as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as drivers are the current speed limit??

Wouldn't this choice make more sense if "as likely to exceed the proposed limited as they DO WITH the current one"

Experts please explain...
I feel your pain on this one. You're right that if we're comparing two verbs, and the first verb is an action, the second should be "do" rather than "is." We can write "Tim runs faster than his kids do," but we can't write, "Tim runs faster than his kids are."

However, I could also write, "Tim is more likely to win than his kids are." While there is an action "to win," this action is introduced with the "to be" form "is," and so it's perfectly fair game to use another "to be" verb, "are," in the comparison.

(E) is more like the second case. Take another look:

Quote:
Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are the current one.
Again, we have a more complicated construction in this sentence. If you focus too much on the "to exceed" piece, you're likely to miss the real issue. What we're really comparing is what drivers will be likely to do, to what they are likely to do. So this construction is fine.

Takeaway: Beware of tunnel vision! If you see a comparison issue, and the sentence is long and complicated, you'll likely need to reread to ensure that you're not missing an important piece elsewhere.

I hope that helps!
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Within the context of Choice E- is it ok to say....

...Drivers will be as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit AS the current one?

If you see what I've done above, I have excluded "THEY ARE" from the latter half of the sentence.

GMATNinja and other experts please weigh in on this
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Within the context of Choice E- is it ok to say....

...Drivers will be as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit AS the current one?

If you see what I've done above, I have excluded "THEY ARE" from the latter half of the sentence.

GMATNinja and other experts please weigh in on this

konig666, I'm no expert but sharing my thoughts my while you wait an expert reply.

IMO, no, it will not be correct. As you're now making an illogical comparison b/w the likelihood of "drivers exceeding the proposed speed limit" and the likelihood of "the current speed limit". The 2nd part makes no sense at all.
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konig666
Within the context of Choice E- is it ok to say....

...Drivers will be as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit AS the current one?

If you see what I've done above, I have excluded "THEY ARE" from the latter half of the sentence.

GMATNinja and other experts please weigh in on this
Hi konig666,

Tweaking the correct option is somewhat risky, but for what it is worth, I would not look at the change you made as an absolute error. It's more... ambiguity.

That said, other ways of looking at this are also valid.
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Within the context of Choice E- is it ok to say....

...Drivers will be as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit AS the current one?

If you see what I've done above, I have excluded "THEY ARE" from the latter half of the sentence.

GMATNinja and other experts please weigh in on this
First, you might want to review our responses to similar questions earlier in the thread here and here.

Second, it's rarely a good use of time to speculate over what the GMAT might consider right or wrong. Your job is to select the BEST answer choice out of the five available options. Looking at a single sentence in a bubble and trying to determine whether it's "correct" or "incorrect" based on grammar "rules" is an entirely different job -- one that you'll never have to do on the GMAT!

With that disclaimer in mind, let's check out your example (omitting "they are" from choice E): "Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as the current one."

The problem is that it now seems like we are illogically comparing "drivers" to "the current [speed limit]" -- so the likelihood that drivers will exceed the proposed speed limit is the same as the likelihood that the current speed limit will exceed the proposed speed limit :D .

Without "they are," the meaning is less clear, and the sentence is open to the illogical interpretation described above.
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ritjn2003
Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as the current one.


(A) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as

(B) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are

(C) equally likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as

(D) as likely that they will exceed the proposed speed limit as

(E) as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are




EducationAisle

If we replace "equally" with "as" in the original sentence. Will it still be wrong? I don't know how the ellipses will work out then.

A'. Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as the current one.

A' will be still wrong right?

Thank you!
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EducationAisle

If we replace "equally" with "as" in the original sentence. Will it still be wrong? I don't know how the ellipses will work out then.

A'. Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as the current one.

A' will be still wrong right?
There may be an argument Ashmit that because the tense changes after the comparison operator (future tense "will be" before the comparison operator and present tense "are" after the comparison operator), it is better to choose an option that explicitly mentions the verb with the correct tense after the comparison operator (as is the case in E).
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