Unlike smaller apartment buildings which have fewer than four

Question

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Unlike smaller apartment buildings, which have fewer than four residential units in them , each room within any residential complex must be equipped with a sprinkler system.

A) Unlike smaller apartment buildings, which have fewer than four residential units in them

B) Apart from those apartments that are in buildings that contain fewer than four residential units

C) In contrast to smaller apartment buildings that contain fewer than four residential units

D) Unless the apartment building contains fewer than four residential units

E) Excluding those apartment buildings that have fewer than four residential units in them

generis · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC1) 
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THE PROMPT

• The trap
This question is not exactly a comparison question.
As soon as you see the word  unlike  in option A, you will be tempted to believe that the question is a comparison.
Then you will find that none of the items compared in four options are similar. (Remember, we must compare apples to apples—like to like.)

At that point, you must shift gears and realize that the conditional structure in the correct answer captures the spirit of the comparison but contains the conditional structure  Unless X is ABC, Y is required.

• Meaning? 
We can glean meaning even from incorrect option A.

→ Whether sprinkler systems are required in residential units depends on the size of the building: if a building contains more than three residential units, each room must contain a sprinkler system.
(We do not know the sprinkler system requirements for smaller apartment buildings that contain fewer than four residential units; we know only that they are not required to have a sprinkler system in every room.)

THE OPTIONS  
 
• incorrect comparison
→ incorrectly compares  buildings  with  each room 
→ Whenever you see the word  unlike  (or  like , or  similar to , etc.), inspect the items under comparison.
→ Does the sentence compare similar things? 
In this case, no.
 Each room  in a residential complex and  smaller apartment buildings  are not similar.
The correct comparison would be between  residential complexes  and  smaller apartment buildings .

•  in them  is redundant. By definition, a unit inside an apartment building is inside the apartment building.

• use of the verb  have  ("which have fewer than four units") is standard English (albeit not sophisticated prose).
We say say that a building  has  or  contains  four rooms. The latter is preferred. The former is not a reason to eliminate a sentence. 
→  Correct:  The house on the corner has a huge front yard.
→  Correct:  The Empire State Building has a spire on top.
Eliminate A

• incorrect comparison
→  apartments  and  each room  are not similar items. 
This comparison might be a bit more difficult to see.
Apart from (with the exception of, excluding)  apartments  that are in ABC . . ., each  room

• Clumsy diction; too many words 
→  Apart from  is a multi-word preposition that usually means  excluding,  can sometimes mean  as well as,  and does not make this sentence any easier to understand.

→ verbose and rhetorically flabby: watch out for too many THATs
This phrase is wordy:  apartments  that  are in buildings  that  contain fewer than four residential units 
We could simply say: "apartments in buildings containing fewer than four residential units."

I would advise aspirants  not  to eliminate an option on the first pass on the basis of style. (This option contains a comparison error, which is a logical predication error.)
Eliminate B

• contrast is a form comparison; this comparison/contrast is not between similar things

→ Yet again:  smaller apartment buildings  cannot be contrasted with  each room. 
Eliminate C.

• I do not see any errors

• Although this sentence is not a comparison in the strict sense, it both conveys similar meaning and does so with more clarity than the other options.

• This sentence is a conditional:  Unless X, Y. 
We could rewrite:  If an apartment building contains more than three units, every room must be equipped with a sprinkler system.  ← ← Option D and that sentence mean the same thing.
KEEP

• incorrect comparison
→  buildings  and  each room  are not similar items.

• diction error
→  that have fewer than four residential units in them  is a long way to say "with fewer than four residential units"
→  in them  is redundant
Eliminate E

The correct answer is D.

COMMENTS

This question is good practice for developing a nimble and flexible mindset; the structure of the correct option (a conditional) does not resemble the structure of option A (a comparison).

For those of you who may be wondering: option A does not determine intended meaning, so if you avoided correct option D because it seemed to be too different from option A, now you know that such a choice is not necessary.
I know that in certain test prep companies, teachers still describe option A as hallowed.
It is not so.

I am glad to "see" a couple of people whom I have not seen in a while.

These answers are range from very good to excellent.
Nicely done.

zhanbo · Answer

My answer is  (D) . It took me 01:21.

(A) (1) Cannot compare "each room" with "smaller apartment buildings". (2) "have" in "which have" suggests that small apartment buildings own residential units. An inanimate object cannot really own something. (3) "in them" is superfluous. (4) It does not convey clear meaning, which I am not sure of until I read (D).

(B) (1) "Each room" is not parallel with "those apartments". (2) "Apart from" can mean two things: "except for" or "in addition to". It is not readily clear what meaning this sentence intends to convey. (3) Rather long sentences.

(C) (1) "Each room" cannot be contrasted with "smaller apartment buildings". （2）This sentence suggests that "each room ... must be equipped with a sprinkler system" when each room is "in contrast to small apartment buildings.". Yet the requirement should remain in effect even if "each room" is not in contrast to small apartment buildings.

(D) This is the only sentence whose meaning is clear and sensible.

(E) (1) Can "each room" do the job of "excluding those apartment buildings that have fewer than four residential units in them"? (2) "Each room" is not parallel with "those apartments". (3) "in them" is supererogatory.

DarkKnight800 · Answer

My answer is D

A) Unlike smaller apartment buildings, which have fewer than four residential units in them
Reason to eliminate - Comparison between Smaller Apartment Buildings and Room in residential complex. The logical comparison can be between Apartment Building with Residential Complex.

B) Apart from those apartments that are in buildings that contain fewer than four residential units
Reason to eliminate - Those apartment and Room are not parallel. Also "Those" - What does Those refer to? Room and Apartment are not parallel. The sentence structure conveys meaning incorrectly

C) In contrast to smaller apartment buildings that contain fewer than four residential units
Reason to eliminate - Incorrect comparisons between small apartment building and the room.

D) Unless the apartment building contains fewer than four residential units
Correct choice

E) Excluding those apartment buildings that have fewer than four residential units in them 
Reason to eliminate - Those - What does "those" refer to?

Anuragsharma93 · Answer

IMO D

A) Unlike smaller apartment buildings, which have fewer than four residential units  in them  - Like and unlike is used to compare similar things and hence we cannot compare smaller  apartment  buildings with each  room . Further the use of "in them" is erroneous.

B) Apart from  those apartments  that are in buildings that contain fewer than four residential units - again the comparison is between apartments and each room which is illogical.

C) In contrast to smaller apartment buildings that contain fewer than four residential units - same error as B

D) Unless the apartment building contains fewer than four residential units - Correct answer with clear meaning and structure.

E) Excluding those apartment buildings that have fewer than four residential units in them - incomplete sentence and illogical meaning as there must be something logical after the ing phrase + comma. Further the use of In Them is erroneous.

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

Unlike smaller apartment buildings, which have fewer than four residential units in them, each room within any residential complex must be equipped with a sprinkler system.

A) Unlike smaller apartment buildings, which have fewer than four residential units in them -> Unlike hints for comparison, are we comparing smaller apartment buildings with each room. Incorrect.

B) Apart from those apartments that are in buildings that contain fewer than four residential units -> those apartments are not parallel to each room. Incorrect.

C) In contrast to smaller apartment buildings that contain fewer than four residential units-> It is similar to A. Incorrect.

D) Unless the apartment building contains fewer than four residential units -> each room is working as modifier. Let's keep it.

E) Excluding those apartment buildings that have fewer than four residential units in them -> It is similar to B. Incorrect.

So, I think D.

100mitra · Answer

Eliminate, A, B, C and E - sentence structure are in comparison tone, which has nothing to compare.  
A)  Unlike smaller apartment buildings , which have fewer than four residential units in them
B)  Apart from those apartments  that are in buildings that contain fewer than four residential units
C)  In contrast to smaller apartment buildings  that contain fewer than four residential units
E)  Excluding those apartment buildings  that have fewer than four residential units in them

Conditional Sentence structure tone:  
D)  Unless the  apartment building  contains fewer than  four residential units
each room within any residential complex  must be equipped with a sprinkler system

generis · Answer

The official explanation can be found by clicking  here  .

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Unlike smaller apartment buildings which have fewer than four

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Unlike smaller apartment buildings which have fewer than four

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