Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be equally likely

Luckily, I don't recall having to use would vs. will as a decision point on an official SC question, so I wouldn't worry too much about this!

The short answer is that we use "will" for things that are real possibilities and "would" for things that are hypothetical or imagined. Here, have an example:

"If I had a billion dollars, I would buy you a pretzel factory."

The use of "would" implies that I will likely never actually have a billion dollars, and that this is just a fantasy (a hypothetical situation). In this case, I don't believe that I will ever actually buy you a pretzel factory, sadly.

"Once I make my first million dollars, I will buy you a really large pretzel."

The use of "will" implies that this is a very REAL possibility. Note that that does NOT mean it's DEFINITELY going to happen. But in this case, I believe that I will make over a million dollars and that I will be able to buy you a really large pretzel someday.

So it's not about knowing with certainty whether something is going to happen. It's about whether the possibility is in fact realistic or simply imagined/fantasy/hypothetical. Of course, that distinction can be very subtle and subjective, and that's part of why we don't see this as a common decision point on the GMAT.

In short, as long as it's something that you think could possibly happen (even if you don't KNOW that it will happen), then "will" might be justifiable.

I hope that helps!
_________________

hI GMATNinja, ExpertsGlobal5,
My query is regarding the following
OAs in the OGs:
Its numbers are now five times greater than when the use of DDT was sharply restricted.
Heating-oil prices are expected to be higher this year than last.
Traffic safety officials predict that drivers will be as likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are the current ine.

In the aforementioned OAs, how can one determine parallelism in case of omissions? Should one memorize certain rules(and if so, please provide them) or is memorizing such parallel OAs
helpful?

Hi egmat / CrackverbalGMAT /Experts,
Can you please explain more on the correct usage of idiom "as likely as"? Thank you!

My understanding:

1. Compare 2 objects/subjects A and B.
A is as likely to fail as B is to fail
with ellipsis:
A is as likely to fail as B is to fail

Eg in this sentence: The driver will as likely to exceed the new speed limit as [they are to exceed] the current speed limit

2. Compare 2 actions X and Y
A is as likely to do X as A is to do Y
with Ellipsis:
A is as likely to do X as (A is to do) Y

Eg: The driver will as likely to exceed the new speed limit as they are [to exceed] the current speed limit

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

Meaning intended: Drivers are as likely/ equally likely TO do something as they did before. Use of 'will' makes the meaning murky as the sentence is trying to show the intension of drivers and not a prediction. She's likely to make a mistake vs She likely will make a mistake. Eliminate C and D.

(A) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as - Comparison error as 'drivers likely to exceed limit' are compared to 'current speed limit'

(B) equally likely to exceed the proposed speed limit as they are - This is better as 'drivers likely to exceed limit' compared to 'they are (likely) to the current one'. We keep this on the table and look for other issues.

(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 - 'drivers as likely to' compared to 'they are (likely) to' . Good. Now the only difference between B and E is 'equally likely AS' vs 'AS likely AS'. Idiomatically as likely as is better. Select E

Hello Ananabanana,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, your understanding is,indeed, broadly correct here.

Kudos.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
_________________

Hi ExpertsGlobal5
Thank you for your response.

When I look at this structure, I still feel like something is not so right.
Why is it " B is to fail"? Because "is" should be followed by an adjective rather than a "to Verb".

Should the full form of this comparison structure be written as below? Is this correct?

A is as likely to fail as B is likely to fail

A is as likely to do X as A is likely to do Y

And incase of ellipsis, any duplicated words in this full format structure can be omitted and the sentence is still correct?

Looking forward to your response. Thank you!

Hello Ananabanana,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the comparison marker here is the phrase "as likely", so the adjective "likely" does not need to be repeated; it is understood that how likely the comparison between the events is in terms of their likelihood.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
_________________

Sadly, looking for patterns in answer choices and trying to come up with black-and-white rules usually backfires. The questions you've referenced have some similarities, but each is different in important ways -- just because a construction works in one correct answer choice doesn't mean that construction is always correct. And just because a construction doesn't work in an incorrect answer choice doesn't mean that it's always wrong. That's why comparing sentences from different problems is rarely productive.

That's particularly true with comparison questions. I'd love to say that there are some useful rules for comparisons, but there are few, if any, rules that apply universally to all GMAT SC comparisons.

Yes, certain grammar rules can be important and valuable on SC. But once you've eliminated choices that have DEFINITE errors, you have to think really hard about the differences in meaning among the remaining choices and determine which choice is the best among the ones you're given. That part is difficult and unsatisfying, and memorizing an ever-growing list of esoteric grammar rules won't help much, especially for comparisons.

For more on that, check out the our SC guide for beginners or this rant about how to improve from great (760) to incredible (780!) on SC. For more on comparisons, you could start with this video or this one.

I hope that helps a bit!
_________________

My approach was as follows,

1) Read the question stem and understood that the comparison is between the 'likelihood of drivers breaking speed limit' - so comparison has to include a subject that indicates the drivers
> This eliminates A, C & D

2) Noticed the only remaining difference to be 'as-likely-as vs equally-likely-as' - 'As-likely-as' is a preferred comparison syntax in GMAT
> This eliminates B

Disclaimer :
1) I knew the choice between as-likely-as vs equally-likely-as, but it is a preference, so I chose to eliminate on some concrete rule first.
2) In case you were not aware of the choice between as-likely-as vs equally-likely-as, there are 2 ways to go forward:
-----(i) Now you know, so add it in your notes
-----(ii) Follow the GMATNinja approach and not remember any rules but look for meaning and eliminates basis that.
(I love this approach and partly use this in my strategy. But while solving, as of now, I do not feel very confident to eliminate only with this strategy. So, I choose to remember a few things)

Hi experts,
Can I just say that choice A, B, and C are wrong as adverb (equally) modifies adverb (likely) in wrong way?
_________________

Hello RonPurewal,
Hope you are wall in this pandemic. I was your course student once upon a time. In one of our LIVE classes you said that if we've 2 versions (e.g., 'equally likely' and 'as likely') then one version is definitely wrong! As 'as likely' is the correct choice in this case, can we surely say that 'equally likely' is written in wrong way?
_________________