The growth rate of a startup business, as other performance

Question

The growth rate of a startup business, as other performance indicators, generally increases with both the time and  resources dedicated to the endeavor.

A. The growth rate of a startup business, as other performance indicators, generally increases with both the time and

B. As with other performance indicators, the growth rate of a startup business generally increases with both the time and

C. Like other performance indicators, the growth rate of a startup business generally increases both with the time and

D. As other performance indicators, the growth rate of a startup business generally increases both with the time and the

E. The growth rate of a startup business, like other performance indicators, generally increases with both the time and the

mikemcgarry · Accepted Answer

I am responding to a pm from fameatop : Split #1 : we use "like" for comparing nouns ( X, like Y, is Q ). We use "as" for comparing verbs/predicates ( X does P, as does Y ). Choices (A) & (D) use "as" with a noun --- these are incorrect. The structure "as with " is highly suspicious --- I don't believe I've ever seen this correct on the GMAT, so (B) is out as well. Only (C) & (E) survive this first split. Split #2 : the order of "both" and "with". The sentence wants to say "with" two things --- P = " the time dedicated to the endeavor " and Q = " the resources dedicated to the endeavor ". Obvious, we are not going to repeat that long common phrase " dedicated to the endeavor " --- we only use that once. The question is --- where should be put the word "both"? If we use the word "both" after "with" --- "with both P and Q " --- this correctly emphasizes: with both of the items. By contrast, if we put "both" before the word "with", that implies that the two elements of the "both" are two prepositional phrases, the first beginning with "with" and the second, presumably, beginning with another preposition --- "both with P and under K" ---- technically, if both terms have the same preposition, we would need to repeat that, to emphasize the same preposition is coming twice --- "both with P and with Q" --- of course, that's terribly wordy. The word "both" is the "joining word", the word that introduces some sort of parallelism --- a common word applying to both terms of the parallelism can appear once before the joining word, or in each term after the joining word, either once outside the parallel structure or before each term inside the parallel structure, either " with both P and Q " or " both with P and with Q ". See this blog for more info: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/common-par ... orrection/ The structure " both with P and Q " is incorrect, a violation of parallelism, and choices (C) & (D) make this mistake, so both of these are incorrect. The only answer choice that survives both splits is (E) , the OA. Let me know if anyone reading this has any further questions. Mike :-)

ravigupta2912 · Answer

Hi  AndrewN  could you help with choice B here? I thought the framing “as with other growth indicators” isn’t exactly comparing two indicators but a certain attribute of the two indicators and hence “as” was correct here.

i can understand if the reasoning is lack of a definitive “the” in B so as to may application of “both X and Y” idiom incorrect but I just want to be sure on the way this answer choice started out.

Posted from my mobile device

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  ravigupta2912 . Although I did not reject (B) right away, when I compared the beginning of each of (B) and (C), I saw no compelling reason to opt for the former:

(B) As with other performance indicators...
(C) Like other performance indicators...

(B) begs the question, how do we deal with the  with ? How do we make sense of it or justify its inclusion when  like  makes such a direct noun-to-noun comparison? So, although I might not have gotten rid of (B) at the first comma, I already had a reason to doubt it, and the tail-end of the underlined portion just allowed me to feel better about eliminating the answer choice. That, in a nutshell, is how you ought to consider approaching SC. Look for easy targets first; in a second pass, lean on doubts to help guide you to the most correct answer.

I hope that helps. Thank you for thinking to ask me about this one.

- Andrew

CEdward · Answer

Sneaky. I missed the article in choice C.

I do have a gripe with E though and frankly I think it is wrong.

E. The growth rate of a startup business, like other performance indicators, generally increases with both the time and the X

The placement of 'like other performance indicators' arguably modifies 'startup business'...creating ambiguity Am I wrong in my assessment?

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  CEdward . This is a case in which you may be applying grammatical understanding ahead of meaning, leading to the confusion you have outlined. There is no ambiguity within the comparison because how can  a startup business  be a  performance indicator ? A business is just a business. The indicator has to be the noun ahead of the preposition,  the growth rate . There are certainly times in which a phrase modifies the object of a preposition, but you have to ask yourself whether the sentence could logically be interpreted with either noun being modified. If the answer is yes, then you would indeed be dealing with ambiguity. This sentence, however, leaves no room for one of those interpretations.

I hope that helps clarify the matter. On a strictly grammar-based approach, I would say you could earn a 40 in Verbal, but to reach into more competitive territory, you would need to combine grammatical understanding with an overarching meaning-based approach.

- Andrew

CEdward · Answer

Agreed. Of course, it varies from sentence to sentence. I hold the opinion that unless you've reached enlightenment that it's simply a tall order to catch every mistake. But, I digress.

More importantly, the point you raise about ambiguity. One thing that I am still iffy about is in fact whether the modifier is modifying the noun or the object of the preposition (another noun). So are you saying that anytime there IS ambiguity that the choice is wrong?

Perhaps you have some examples off hand? I have seen this time and time again.

AndrewN · Answer

I agree with the notion that catching every mistake is nearly impossible. That is why I advocate finding the easiest points of entry or elimination first, then considering more nuanced issues. Regarding modifiers, I am not going to create an absolute rule that any time a modifier could technically agree with either a noun ahead of a preposition or the object of a preposition, you can eliminate. You may have reason to doubt whether such an answer expresses the vital meaning of the sentence in the best way, but a doubt is not the same as calling something wrong.

Take a look at the beginning of the following  official question , for example:

Construction of the Roman Colosseum, which was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater...

I had a student who wrote off the sentence right away on the grounds that  construction  was not known as an amphitheater. But, similar to what we saw in this question, logic dictates that the clause modifies the Colosseum rather than the construction. Besides, all five answer choices employ the same modifier in  known as , whether as a modifying clause or phrase, so that consideration is not a decisive factor. In the end, you should lean on the context of the sentence to see what it may reveal about agreement, and in the event that you catch something that does not make sense, see how other answer choices may address the issue.

- Andrew

VerbalBot · Answer

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The growth rate of a startup business, as other performance

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The growth rate of a startup business, as other performance

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