Unlike many United States cities, where a river is no longer the focal

Good question! When we use "like" or "unlike" we have to compare nouns or noun phrases.

For example, "Philadelphia, like Boston, is a wonderful city, but it has an inferiority complex." (In case any Philly people are tempted to throw batteries at me: I LOVE Philly, and have family there. But it totally has an inferiority complex.) In this case, we're demonstrating a similarity between two cities, "Philadelphia" and "Boston." That's fine. What I can't do is write, "Philadelphia, like in Boston..." because now I'm demonstrating a similarity between a city and a prepositional phrase, and that would make no sense.

(B) has a similar problem. Here we have "Unlike the river..., in San Antonio," so we're comparing "the river" and the prepositional phrase, "in San Antonio." Even if the sentence said, "Unlike the river, San Antonio...," the construction still would be wrong, since we'd be comparing a river to a city.

Because (E) doesn't contain the word "unlike", we're under no obligation to compare nouns directly. Instead, we're comparing contrasting clauses, as indicated by "but." Because there's a logical contrast in the ideas expressed in each clause -- in most cities rivers aren't a focal point of life, but in San Antonio they are -- this construction is logical.

I hope that helps!

E sounds best. Others have incorrect modifiers / comparisons. Another good question +1.

Unlike many United States cities, where a river is no longer the focal point of urban life, the river in San Antonio winds through the middle of the business district, and the River Walk, or Pasco del Rio, is the city's most popular attraction.
A) Unlike many United States cities, where a river is no longer the focal point of urban life, the river in San Antonio
B) Unlike the river in many cities in the United Stated, which is no longer the local point of urban life, in San Antonio the river
C)Today the river in many cities in the United States is no longer the focal point of urban life, unlike San Antonio, where it
D) In few United States cities today, a river is the focal point of urban life, but the river in San Antonio
E) No longer do many cities in United States have a river as the focal point of urban life, but in San Antonio the river


A - not the best choice. Unlike many cities in US is compared to the river. Invalid comparison
B - Invalid comparison again. Unlike the river in many cities is compared to San Antonio
C - The sentence should have had "in San Antonio" at the end of the sentence.
D - Invalid comparion ("In few United States cities today" compared to "but the river in San Antonio")
E - Best Answer.

Sentence has comparison and pronoun reference issue

A) Unlike many United States cities, where a river is no longer the focal point of urban life, the river in San Antonio [Comparison between Many United States cities and the river – eliminate it]

B) Unlike the river in many cities in the United Stated, which is no longer the local point of urban life, in San Antonio the river [Good one but which is pointing the United States – eliminate it]

C)Today the river in many cities in the United States is no longer the focal point of urban life, unlike San Antonio, where it [It has referent issue – points to San Antonio / River – eliminate it]

D) In few United States cities today, a river is the focal point of urban life, but the river in San Antonio [Changing the meaning of the sentence – eliminate it]

E) No longer do many cities in United States have a river as the focal point of urban life, but in San Antonio the river [Hold it]

Answer: E

lets take the correct answer and plugin in the stem

No longer do many cities in United States have a river as the focal point of urban life, but in San Antonio the river winds through the middle of the business district, and the River Walk, or Pasco del Rio, is the city's most popular attraction.

No longer do many cities in United States have a river as the focal point of urban life--sentence

,but - coordinating conjunction.

in San Antonio the river winds through the middle of the business district--sentence

,and--coordinating conjunction.

the River Walk, or Pasco del Rio, is the city's most popular attraction--sentence.

Unlike many United States cities, where a river is no longer the focal point of urban life, the river in San Antonio winds through the middle of the business district, and the River Walk, or Pasco del Rio, is the city's most popular attraction.

(A) Unlike many United States cities, where a river is no longer the focal point of urban life, the river in San Antonio - Incorrect comparison - US cities vs river

(B) Unlike the river in many cities in the United States, which is no longer the local point of urban life, in San Antonio the river - Incorrect comparison - river in San Antonio is preferred ; usage of which to refer to river -- too far away

(C) Today the river in many cities in the United States is no longer the focal point of urban life, unlike San Antonio, where it - Incorrect comparison - river vs city

(D) In few United States cities today, a river is the focal point of urban life, but the river in San Antonio - meaning changes and contrast is lost

(E) No longer do many cities in United States have a river as the focal point of urban life, but in San Antonio the river - Correct

Answer E

"E" is the correct answer

Wrong comparisons in options A, B, and C
D is awkward

Therefore, E has to be the answer, because it contains correct comparison.

the correct answer here is still pretty ugly, so let's criticize the four incorrect choices.

choice a:
faulty comparison:
'unlike many u.s. cities, ... the river in san antonio...' --> can't compare cities to a river

choice b:
comparison isn't so good:
the second part should start directly with 'the river' (instead of 'in san antonio the river...'), so that the comparison is more clear.
much more importantly, poor use of the relative pronoun 'which':
'...cities in the united states, which is no longer the focal point...'
relative pronouns like which, by default, refer to the noun that's closest to the left, which in this case is the united states. therefore, this relative pronoun is used in a way that's either ambiguous (if you allow it to potentially refer to other nouns) or just plain wrong (if you follow the rule strictly).

choice c:
faulty comparison again
'the river...' is being compared to san antonio.

choice d:
drastic change in meaning
this sentence has completely gotten rid of any reference to the concept of 'no longer'. while all the other sentences say that things have changed, this sentence presents the situation as if it's always been that way.

May is ask, what is the subject of "is the city's most popular attraction"
because "The river" already has a verb "winds"

Could anyone please help me identify exactly which words are parallel in the correct answer choice E?
Isn't there 'many cities' parallel with 'river in san Antonio'??

Posted from my mobile device

Yes, the question is from GMAT Prep. No screenshot available though.

Darshak wrote



1. I never said the comparison is wrong. I only said it is weak. Because in B, the comparison is not forthright. The introductory prepositional modifier namely 'in Santanio' does not just modify 'the river' alone but the entire long clause that follows. I think you also admit that when you say the comparison is poor.

2. "Which" refers to the river that is at least two nouns away. Additionally, you seem to be mistaking a noun phrase for a noun clause. Relative pronouns as they imply should refer to specific nouns rather than nouns nested with many modifiers.

In this connection, Please also look into what Ninja says in this very thread about why B is not the preferred choice. To make you feel more at home about this, please visit the link given in MGMAT, wherein Ron candidly explains why B is wrong.

https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/forums/unlike-many-united-states-cities-where-a-river-is-no-longer-t2350.html

Just as an aside, would you ask Ninja and Ron also to update their understanding of this issue?

Dharshak
Please do not think I got offended. I also see that your thinking is deep. Keep it up. I always with you in the forum

Hi,

Please correct me if I'm wrong GMATNinja daagh egmat , but my take on this question was slightly different.

(A) Unlike many United States cities, where a river is no longer the focal point of urban life, the river in San Antonio - Incorrect comparison, as pointed out by many earlier
(B) Unlike the river in many cities in the United States, which is no longer the focal point of urban life, in San Antonio the river Many people are pointing the fact that comparison is incorrect, but I'd like to point out the usage of "THE" here. In the original sentence, we have "a" riven in many US cities, meaning every city has their respective river. If we say, THE RIVER, we are assuming that there is one river flowing through many US cities.
(C) Today the river in many cities in the United States is no longer the focal point of urban life, unlike San Antonio, where it Same as B
(D) In few United States cities today, a river is the focal point of urban life, but the river in San Antonio Just because we have reversed the order, doesn't mean the meaning is correct. Many could mean anywhere from 1 to 100 (CR concept)
(E) No longer do many cities in the United States have a river as the focal point of urban life, but in San Antonio the river usage of a river is correct

Thanks!

(There's a great post about this very point here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/can-like-unl ... l#p2625565.)

Logically, it makes a lot of sense to have a noun after the word "like" (or unlike). After all, one thing can be like (or unlike) another thing. Can "in Japan" be like "in Greece"? Ehhhh... maybe? But it makes more sense to compare "being in Japan" to "being in Greece" (yes, "being" is a noun here -- a gerund, if you like the jargon).

As suggested by vv65 (see link above), it's probably a bad idea to make an elimination based on something like this right away. It's better to look for other decision points and see how your options stack up once all of the votes are tallied. Coming up with a list of "rules" to memorize and blindly apply won't get you very far on this test, sadly.

One thing we say all the time is that GMAT SC isn't about coming up with "rules" based on the OAs and hastily applying those "rules" to other questions. In this particular question, the funky comparison makes the meaning in (B) a bit harder to follow than the meaning in (E). Does that mean that something like this will ALWAYS be wrong? Not necessarily. But it's certainly something to consider when comparing your options.

In this case, the funky comparison gives us a solid vote in favor of (E) over (B). As pointed out by GmatTutorKnight, the article "the" in (B) is also problematic: is there just ONE river shared by the many cities? Again, that's not definitively WRONG, exactly, but it's another reason why (E) is the better option.


Again, is it WRONG to have a noun modifier ("which...") that jumps over two prepositional phrases? Not necessarily. But this structure does make the reader's life a bit harder, giving us yet another small vote in favor of (E) over (B).

I agree it's E

A) Unlike many United States cities, where a river is no longer the focal point of urban life, the river in San Antonio
Wrong comparison
B) Unlike the river in many cities in the United Stated, which is no longer the local point of urban life, in San Antonio the river
Wrong comparison
C)Today the river in many cities in the United States is no longer the focal point of urban life, unlike San Antonio, where it
Implies one river in many cities
D) In few United States cities today, a river is the focal point of urban life, but the river in San Antonio
Impies rivers are focal points when they are not
E) No longer do many cities in United States have a river as the focal point of urban life, but in San Antonio the river