Alike the game of chess between the two champions, politics of

Question

Alike   the game of chess between two champions, politics often results in a stalemate with no gain for the public.

A. Alike
B. As if it were
C. Just as
D. Like
E. As

Source: Experts Global

daagh · Accepted Answer

'Like' is a preposition. That means 'like' can precede only a noun or a noun phrase. 
Like Tom, Dick is also tall.

On the contrary, 'alike' can be preceded only by a verb. 
Tom and Dick are alike in many respects

Therefore, 'alike' in A is wrong. Use of 'as' in a comparison of two noun elements is wrong in B, C, and E. 
D is the answer.

ravigupta2912 · Answer

I often get confused here between "like" and "as". I read somewhere that while both can be applied for noun, "like" is the preferred usage for comparing humans.

Can someone clarify on the usage of like and as?

Posted from my mobile device

thinkvision · Answer

Hi Ravi,  ravigupta2912

"As" can  Never  be used to compare the nouns. Only "Like" is used to compare two noun subjects.

"As" can be used to compare the two clause (Subject+verb+Object).

Try filtering out few questions of comparison on Gmatclub and apply this concept. I'm sure, you'll have better view on this.

Hope this helps!

ParamjitDasGMAT · Answer

D  is the correct answer .

Here's the analysis for the options -

A) "Alike" is generally used as an adverbial to mean "identical" or "similarly" or "in the same way". As such, it would usually modify a verb. For example:

John and Sam   dressed   alike.

However, from what I have seen in terms of usage, "alike" can technically be used as an adjective to modify a noun as well; However, in such constructions, it should usually be preceded by an auxiliary verb -  a simple form of the verb 'be' (the same idea applies for the correct usage of 'due to' as well) . For example:

John and Sam were/are/have been/had been...etc. alike

When used in such constructions, "alike" is usually used to mean "  identical  ". Here, however, the idea, of course, is that  a game of chess  and  politics  are similar in some ways, but NOT identical.  This rules out A .

C)  Just as  is used to compare actions, not nouns. The first half of the sentence does not have a main verb and is hence acting purely as a modifier. Hence the usage of 'just as' is incorrect. Something like the following could have been the correct usage of  Just As  in this context:

Just as the game of chess between two champions often  results  in a stalemate, so  does  politics. 
 
As we can see in the above sentence, "Just As" is used to compare two clauses (there are verbs on both sides).  We can eliminate C .

E) This one is interesting - there are multiple uses of "As". One use is the same as the usage in Option C - i.e., to compare actions/clauses. However, "As" can also be used as a   preposition  , in which case it will not be followed by a verb. In such a construction "as" would mean "in the role/capacity of". For example:

John was employed  AS  a librarian (employed  in the capacity/role of  a librarian). No verb follows.

Here, the problem with "As" is that it is not used for comparing actions (if it were, there should have been a verb in the first half of the modifier), nor is it used as a preposition - the prepositional usage would render the sentence illogical, as it would entail that "politics" can  assume the role of  a "chess game", which would be nonsensical in this context.  Eliminate E .

Hence, Option D is the correct answer  .

Please feel free to ask in case of any queries or if anything is unclear.

Happy prepping!

VerbalBot · Answer

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Alike the game of chess between the two champions, politics of

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Alike the game of chess between the two champions, politics of

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