Of the three major candidates for President in 2004, Ralph Nader, an

Question

Of the three major candidates for President in 2004, Ralph Nader, an independent who had represented the Green Party in the 2000 election,  received the least media coverage and ultimately the fewest votes .

(A) received the least media coverage and ultimately the fewest votes

(B) received less media coverage and ultimately fewer votes

(C) received less media coverage and ultimately less votes

(D) received the least media coverage and ultimately less votes than did the other candidates

(E) received the smallest amount of media coverage and ultimately the smallest number of votes

mikemcgarry · Accepted Answer

Dear reachskishore , I'm happy to help. :-)

This is not the most impressive question. One of the ideas this questions tries to explore is the distinction of countable vs. uncountable. See GMAT Grammar: Less vs. Fewer GMAT Comparisons: More vs. Greater and Less vs. Fewer More importantly, we use comparatives ( more, fewer, bigger, smaller ) for situations with just two elements, and we use superlatives ( most, least, biggest, smallest ) for cases with 3+ elements. We are discussing three candidates, so we need superlatives. (B) & (C) use comparatives, not superlatives. (D) says " less votes ," rather than " fewer votes ." (E) seems to be trying to win a contest for the longest and most awkward answer possible, and it definitely could be a finalist in that competition--that's how wrong it is. (A) is flawless and correct. The incorrect answers can be eliminated in a relatively straightforward manner. The subject is also somewhat contrived: the 2004 US Presidential Election was a contest primarily between two major candidates, who won all of the electoral votes and 99% of the popular vote between them. Nader and the others merely were rounding errors in the big picture. Here's a much more challenging question exploring some similar themes: Johannes Brahms lived Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

TejasD · Answer

When comparing 3 or more superlative must be used. Only A and D remain.

A is clear in establishing the chronology. I fewer is correct.

Hence A.

This is my understanding. Experts fell free to correct me if I logic is wrong.

Sent from my XT1562 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

abhishekrukhaiyar · Answer

The comparison is between three different candidates. So, the best option should have the superlative degree. Further, media coverage is non-countable and votes countable. So the comparative word should satisfy both.

A. Satisfy both requirements
B. Not Superlative
C. same word for both countable and non-countable
D. One is superlative, another is the Comparative form of the first one. No way
E. Maybe tempting for some. As it is satisfying both requirements, superlative and amount vs number (Non-Countable vs Countable). But, this is the weirdest and we have a simple option to select.

sm1510 · Answer

Question seen in Manahattan GMAT Prep. Please help tag

Praditha · Answer

Why should we use superlative ?
Isn't B grammatically correct ?

Of the three major candidates for President in 2004, Ralph Nader, an

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Of the three major candidates for President in 2004, Ralph Nader, an

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