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705-805 (Hard)|   Comparisons|         
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Unlike most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged wa 10 Apr 2023, 03:12
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ARSarkar
Can you please explain what is the correct usage of "in that" ? In the below OG question, the usage of "in that" is wrong.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-olympic-games-helped-to-keep-peace-among-the-pugnacious-states-of-85874.html.
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Hi ARSarkar,

In that is just a more formal way to say because (I recommend that you replace in that with "in the sense that").

Try not to force a meaning call here. Some people insist that in that is slightly different from because, but I don't think the GMAT will ask us to take that kind of call. Instead, I recommend that you try to avoid in that. In other words, in that is not an absolute error.
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Unlike most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged wa 15 Apr 2023, 21:18
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ARSarkar

There's nothing inherently wrong with the phrase "in that," despite the cheap explanation in the OG. However, "in that" doesn't mean the same thing as "because." It is used to show IN WHICH WAY something is meant. So in this case, we are saying that blue-winged warblers are different from others. IN WHICH WAY? In that males and females are hard to tell apart.

Note that in the Olympic example you linked to, the phrase "in that" is less appropriate. We aren't being told what the author means by keeping the peace. We are being told HOW the peace was kept, so "in that" doesn't make as much sense.
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Unlike most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged wa 23 Apr 2023, 02:24
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Hi GMATNinja not clear on why D has been eliminated

"It is very difficult, unlike in most warbler species, to tell the male and female blue-winged warbler apart."

1, Is "in" the problem? Would it have been okay if it was worded as : "It is very difficult, unlike in most warbler species, to tell the male and female in blue-winged warblers apart."

Or 2/ wrong comparison of Warbler Species with difficulty of telling the male and female blue-winged warbler apart



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Unlike most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged warbler are very difficult to tell apart.

(A) Unlike most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged warbler are very difficult to tell apart.

(B) Unlike most warbler species, the gender of the blue-winged warbler is very difficult to distinguish.

(C) Unlike those in most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged warblers are very difficult to distinguish.

(D) It is very difficult, unlike in most warbler species, to tell the male and female blue-winged warbler apart.

(E) Blue-winged warblers are unlike most species of warbler in that it is very difficult to tell the male and female apart.

Source : GMAT Paper Test Test Code 52 Q22

i chose C. My approach was

Unlike "Male and female" in most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged are very difficult to distinguish....I thought "THOSE" in C refers to "MALE AND FEMALE Warblers"

Can anyone please explain why C is wrong. I went thru thread but i couldn't get much help.

I rejected E because of "IN THAT" word. I found E awkward. I know awkward is not any approach but still i couldn't understand/feel that E is right.
Excellent question! You're right that because the subject of the first clause, "those," is plural, it should logically refer to the plural subject of the subsequent clause, "the male and female blue-winged warblers." But if we substitute the referent in place of "those," we get, "Unlike the male and female blue-winged warblers in most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged warblers are very difficult to distinguish.

How can male and female blue-winged warblers be unlike themselves??? That's just nutty. So (C) is out.

Here's (E) again:

  • Blue-winged warblers are unlike most species of warbler in that it is very difficult to tell the male and female apart.

While "in that" sounds a little goofy to my ear, we never want to eliminate answer choices simply because they sound a little off. Otherwise the question writer can seduce us into selecting the wrong answer every single time by having the OA sound a funny.

In this case, "in that" is used to introduce a supporting example. How are blue-winged warblers unlike most species of warbler? In that it's difficult to tell the sexes apart. Makes sense to me.

Most importantly, don't waste brain space obsessing over esoteric constructions, such as "in that." Instead, just know that on difficult SC questions, the correct answer will sometimes sound a little strange to your ear, and this is intentional. It's why we want to use logic, meaning, and grammar to eliminate incorrect options, rather than relying on our ear.

I hope that helps!
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Unlike most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged wa 24 Apr 2023, 14:54
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Hi [url=https://gmatclub.com:443/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&un=GMATNinja%5D%5Bb%5DGMATNinja%5B/b%5D%5B/url%5D not clear on why D has been eliminated

"It is very difficult, unlike in most warbler species, to tell the male and female blue-winged warbler apart."

1, Is "in" the problem? Would it have been okay if it was worded as : "It is very difficult, unlike in most warbler species, to tell the male and female in blue-winged warblers apart."

Or 2/ wrong comparison of Warbler Species with difficulty of telling the male and female blue-winged warbler apart
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Don't overcomplicate things! When we see "like" or "unlike", we need to compare two nouns. If I write, "Unlike most warbler species, the blue-winged warbler...", I'm comparing "most warbler species" to "the blue-winged warbler" and suggesting that those nouns are dissimilar in some way. Makes sense.

But if I write, "Unlike in most warbler species, in the blue-winged warbler," you can probably figure out what I'm trying to say, but this sentence is literally saying that "in most warbler species," is dissimilar to "in the blue-winged warbler." That's incoherent. And you're exactly right that the "in" is the problem: instead of saying that two nouns are dissimilar, we're saying two prepositional phrases are dissimilar. And that doesn't work.

I hope that clears things up!
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Unlike most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged wa 25 Apr 2023, 22:58
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This clears my doubt. Thanks a ton!


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Hi [url=https://gmatclub.com:443/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&un=GMATNinja%5D%5Bb%5DGMATNinja%5B/b%5D%5B/url%5D not clear on why D has been eliminated

"It is very difficult, unlike in most warbler species, to tell the male and female blue-winged warbler apart."

1, Is "in" the problem? Would it have been okay if it was worded as : "It is very difficult, unlike in most warbler species, to tell the male and female in blue-winged warblers apart."

Or 2/ wrong comparison of Warbler Species with difficulty of telling the male and female blue-winged warbler apart
Don't overcomplicate things! When we see "like" or "unlike", we need to compare two nouns. If I write, "Unlike most warbler species, the blue-winged warbler...", I'm comparing "most warbler species" to "the blue-winged warbler" and suggesting that those nouns are dissimilar in some way. Makes sense.

But if I write, "Unlike in most warbler species, in the blue-winged warbler," you can probably figure out what I'm trying to say, but this sentence is literally saying that "in most warbler species," is dissimilar to "in the blue-winged warbler." That's incoherent. And you're exactly right that the "in" is the problem: instead of saying that two nouns are dissimilar, we're saying two prepositional phrases are dissimilar. And that doesn't work.

I hope that clears things up!
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Unlike most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged wa 04 Nov 2023, 05:47
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Unlike most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged warbler are very difficult to tell apart.

Option Elimination -

(A) Unlike most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged warbler are very difficult to tell apart. - "Most warbler species" are compared with "the male and female": the subject for the following clause. Wrong.

(B) Unlike most warbler species, the gender of the blue-winged warbler is very difficult to distinguish. - "Most warbler species" are compared with "the gender." Wrong.

(C) Unlike those in most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged warblers are very difficult to distinguish. - "Those" can refer to "the male and female," "blue-winged warblers," or "the male and female blue-winged warblers." The last two don't make sense. Wrong.

(D) It is very difficult, unlike in most warbler species, to tell the male and female blue-winged warbler apart. - we need "warblers" and not singular for "male and female." Moreover, like/unlike is usually followed by a noun or noun phrase. There is no rule, but it's a general preference, as prepositional phrases can be adverbial.

(E) Blue-winged warblers are unlike most species of warbler in that it is very difficult to tell the male and female apart. - There is one trap here. I know most of us look for "other" here. It is possible that the "Blue-winged warblers" are outside that set of "most species of warbler," so the "other" thought it good to have but not a must. But had it been "all species," we would 100% need "other."
"in that" introduces the intrinsic property. E.g., Gold is considered noble in that it doesn't react with other elements. Another adverbial could be "because," but because is normally used for cause and effect.
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