After the 2010 census, Texas, the second most populous

Question

After the 2010 census, Texas, the second most populous state,  has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than that of California .
(A) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than that of California
(B) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than California
(C) with 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than California
(D) with 38 electoral votes, 17 votes fewer than that of California
(E) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes fewer than California

kuttingchai · Answer

E

we use fewer for countable items (17 votes);however, i got stuck between D and E and choose E

Texas has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes fewer than California.

I think in D subordinate clause "than that of California" is unnecessary

vatsas · Answer

D lacks main verb.

ANother issue with D - That of California = 38 electoral votes of California.

E is perfect.

plui31 · Answer

By removing the unnecessary clauses, we are left with "...Texas...". So the answer has to be one of the choices with "has".

Since votes are countable, use "fewer" and not "less".

thevenus · Answer

(E) wins

Fewer than is the most suitable
than that of is unnecessary.

bschooladmit · Answer

picked d. thought it had "has" as well

E is the right one.

jagdeepsingh1983 · Answer

After the 2010 census, Texas, the second most populous state, has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than that of California.
(A) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than that of California --  Not correct 
(B) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than California--  Not correct 
(C) with 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than California--  Not correct 
(D) with 38 electoral votes, 17 votes fewer than that of California--that of California is redundant 
(E) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes fewer than California- California (has)-- Correct

A, B n C -- less than used when noun is non-countable and fewer is used when noun is countable 
E- seems more correct

WaterFlowsUp · Answer

Bumping for review and further discussion*.

*New project from GMAT Club!!! Check HERE

Theory on Comparison:

Theory Articles on GMATCLUB

free-concept-as-like-and-as-vs-like-from-e-gmat-133427.html#p1090454
as-vs-like-correct-and-incorrect-usages-133950.html#p1092922
how-far-ellipsis-is-permissible-in-comparison-148973.html#p1193647

Theory Articles on Magoosh Blog

https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-sente ... omparison/
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-gramm ... -vs-fewer/

Theory Article on grammer-quizzes.com

https://www.grammar-quizzes.com/like-as.html

vikrantgulia · Answer

Eliminate A,B,C because an adjective "less" is used for countable noun "Votes".
Eliminate D because "the second most populous state" works as additive to Texas. Texas with 38 electoral votes.Seem inappropriate

So answer is E with correct sound Texas has 38 electoral votes.

gmat2015p · Answer

vote is a countable entity. Hence 'less' is incorrect, 'few' is correct. That leaves us with option (D) and (E). 
In (D),'that' is referring to votes. The construction '17 votes fewer than votes of California' is very awkward and does not convey that intended comparison as clearly as option (E). Also, (D) is missing the main verb

Hence (E) = Correct choice

anje29 · Answer

here , if 'those of ' used in place of 'that of' , will that makes option D correct?
what is the ellipsis in option 'E' . I do not remember a official ques , in which option similar to E is correct . mikemcgarry please help.

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear anje29 Notice that (D) has no verb. The entire sentence would be without a verb---the famous missing verb mistake . That's a big problem with (D). Suppose, we change (D) to give it a verb and to change " that " to " those " (D1) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes fewer than those of California Meh! This is grammatically correct, but baggy and bloated, not elegant and appealing. Version (E) has much more "snap" than this. You see, a big part of GMAT SC is rhetorical construction . The GMAT likes language that is direct, concise, and powerful. It likes a crisp down-to-business tone. Let the poets construct meandering sentences that wander on before they get to a point! The business world doesn't have time for that. Time is money, and the language reflects that. " Texas " is the subject of the sentence, so the comparison to " California " puts it in a parallel subject role. I guess you would say that simply the verb " has " has been omitted. Does this make sense? Mike :-)

anje29 · Answer

Thanks Mike for the explanation

chesstitans · Answer

this question contains an important and common pattern in gmat.
The comparison is actually about two states, not the number of votes.

sandysilva · Answer

Because of countable Vs uncountable it boils down to D and E

D has subject verb agreement error. There is no verb for subject "Texas". This choice is not a sentence.
 
 E is the correct answer.

aragonn · Answer

Official Explanation 
Split #1: "has" vs. "with". The subject of the sentence is "Texas." Eliminate the opening prepositional phrase, the appositive clause modifier, and everything after the final comma, and the core sentence is either "… Texas … has 38 electoral votes …" vs. "… Texas … with 38 electoral votes …" The "has" version has a bonafide subject and verb, but the "with" version commits the famous missing verb mistake. Because of this, choices (C) & (D) are incorrect.

Split #2: the comparison. We want a simple comparison --- how many electoral votes Texas has vs. how many California has. The construction "than that of California" may sound very highfalutin and GMAT like, but here it's incorrect. We don't want to compare the state Texas to something having to do with California. Rather, we want to compare the state Texas to the state California, plain and simple. The "than that of California" construction is incorrect in this context, so choices (A) & (D) are incorrect.

Split #3: "less" vs. "fewer", a split that only a fraction of the English-speaking world understands. You may find this blog helpful. For anything we can count, anything for which we would ask "how many?", we need to use "fewer." For anything uncountable, anything for which we would ask "how much?", we need to use "less." Here, we can count how many electoral votes each state has. We would ask the question "how many" electoral votes does such-and-such a state have. Because electoral votes are countable, we need the word "fewer" --- the word "less" is blatantly incorrect. Choices (A) & (B) & (C) are incorrect.

The only possible answer is choice (E).

TarunKumar1234 · Answer

After the 2010 census, Texas, the second most populous state, has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than that of California.
(A) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than that of California -- Not correct
(B) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than California-- Not correct
(C) with 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than California-- Not correct
(D) with 38 electoral votes, 17 votes fewer than that of California--that of California is redundant
(E) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes fewer than California- California (has)-- Correct

A, B n C -- less than used when noun is non-countable and fewer is used when noun is countable
E- seems more correct

Deep32470 · Answer

After the 2010 census, Texas, the second most populous state, has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than that of California.
(A) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than that of California
(B) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than California
(C) with 38 electoral votes, 17 votes less than California
(D) with 38 electoral votes, 17 votes fewer than that of California
(E) has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes fewer than California

I think that E should be ' has 38 electoral votes, 17 votes fewer than has California '

After the 2010 census, Texas, the second most populous

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

After the 2010 census, Texas, the second most populous

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards