If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic

Question

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If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic  that is, like language itself, as characteristic of human beings as nest-building by  birds.

A) that is, like language itself, as characteristic of human beings as nest-building by

B) that, like language itself, is as characteristic of human beings as nest-building is of

C) that, as language itself, is characteristic for human beings as nest-building is for

D) which is, as language itself, characteristic for human beings as nest-building for

E) which, like language itself, is as characteristic for human beings as nest-building by

generis · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Project SC Butler: Day 241 Sentence Correction (SC1)

THE PROMPT

Quote:

If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic that is, like language itself, as characteristic of human beings as nest-building by birds.

• Meaning and structure?
Building nests is characteristic of birds. Similarly, constructing myths is characteristic of human beings.

We have a comparison: Myth-constructing based on universal logic is AS characteristic of human beings AS nest-building is characteristic of birds.

Finally, remember the basics.
-- we say characteristic OF
-- Another idiom is AS X AS Y, in which the X and Y elements must be parallel.

• Strategy

This question is a siren song because it tempts us to get bogged down in the difficult AS/LIKE distinction.
I would advise that you avoid that distinction for as long as you can and look for other errors.
THE OPTIONS

Quote:

A) If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic that is, like language itself, as characteristic of human beings as nest-building [is] [characteristic] by OF birds.

• nonsensical. The sentence says that nest building by birds is as characteristic of human beings as constructing myths is [characteristic of human beings]
• the prepositions that follow the explicit and the implicit characteristic should match and do not
-- characteristic OF and the preposition BY do not match
ELIMINATE A

Quote:

B) If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic that, like language itself, is as characteristic of human beings as nest-building is of birds.

• THis option looks clean:
- universal logic is AS characteristic OF human beings AS nest-building is characteristic OF birds
KEEP

Quote:

C) If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic that, as language itself, is [AS] characteristic for human beings as nest-building is for birds.

• in a comparison structure, if one AS is used, another must be, too: AS X AS Y
-- in this option, the comparative AS before characteristic is missing
• finally, we cannot use as language itself this way. See explanation under option D, below.

Quote:

D) If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic D) which is, as language itself, characteristic for human beings as nest-building [is] for birds.

• characteristic FOR is not idiomatic
• which must be preceded by a comma and is not interchangeable with that
• which gets a preceding comma and sets off nonessential material
-- I have seen exactly one official question in which, in the non-underlined portion, the word which was used without a preceding comma.
That question is very old.
-- in British English, which and that are interchangeable
-- in U.S. English, which is accompanied by commas and sets off nonessential material whereas that is not accompanied by commas and signals essential material
-- for a long time, people have predicted the demise of the distinction between which and that on the GMAT
I don't think so. (I hope not. I'm a stickler about this distinction.)
SC#824 in OG 2020 explicitly tests that very rule.
• as language itself is wrong
-- as means in the way that [language itself] -- then what? As language itself IS or DOES what?
-- when as is followed by a noun or noun phrase, it cannot mean "similar to."
-- AS connotes:
→ ROLE. The uncle will act as guardian of his nieces and nephews. [in the role of guardian]
→ EQUALS. I think of him as my brother. (He's not my brother, but I think of him in that way. I equate him with my brother.)
→ STAGE: As a teenager, she was shy.

Quote:

E) If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic which, like language itself, is as characteristic for human beings as nest-building [is (characteristic)]by birds.

[/quote]
• which should be preceded by a comma
• neither characteristic FOR nor characteristic by is idiomatic
• for and by are not parallel
• We need an "is characteristic of" right after nest-building

The best answer is B.

COMMENTS

Gautam12121991 , sauravvirat1986 , and ayushgarg32 , welcome to SC Butler.

I like the different approaches to the question and the different styles of explanation. Nice work. Kudos to all.

zhanbo · Answer

I chose  (B) . I spent well over 2 minutes on this question.

It is easy to rule out (D) and (E) because "which" should better be used in a non-restrictive clause, which should be set aside by commas.

For the rest, let's remove the non-restrictive phrase and zero in on the main clause:
 Myths are constructed by a universal logic that is as characteristic of human beings as __________. 
I think we can fill in the blank with "nest-building is as characteristic of birds", which can be simplified to be "nest-building is of birds".

Only  (B)  matches.

ayushgarg32 · Answer

I ll go with B, 
Simple POE, 
For vs Of, 
Characteristic of,
and then Between A and B, A is simply eliminated because of usage of is before the modifier, which changes the entire purpose of the modifier, as a result, A eliminated.

sauravvirat1986 · Answer

Meaning: If levi strauss is right, myths are constructed by universal logic. A logic that is like the language itself. This universal logic is as characteristic of human beings as nest building is characteristic of birds.
A. After nest building an "is" is required to make the comparison clear. Nest building by birds is incorrect. The sentence means to say that like nest building is characteristic of birds, language is characteristic of human beings. Of should be used. Incorrect.
B. Correct. Proper comparison. 
C. for is unidiomatic. of should be used.
D. Which is used incorrectly. Moreover repeats the idiom error.
E. Same as D.
B is correct.

Gowtham91 · Answer

This is complex mixture of parallellism and comparision.

The idea is to understand what is compared with what.

Also keep in mind, the idiom "as X as Y", where both X and Y are to be parallel.

here, the "logic" is compared with "language" - (1) - Like is to be used because both are nouns.

"Logic" is further modified by - "is as characteritic of human beings as nest-building is of birds" - (2) - Notice the idiom.

B is the option that is in line with the above understanding.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

A nice question that I daresay throws a red herring into the mix with the LIKE vs AS. The question probably tests parallelism more than any difference between the two, I daresay.

If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic that is, like language itself, as characteristic of human beings as nest-building by birds.

A) that is, like language itself, as characteristic of human beings as nest-building by

as characteristic OF human being .... as nest-building BY birds... Not parallel. Take a moment to consider what it is literally saying --- > as characteristic of human beings as nest building.

B) that, like language itself, is as characteristic of human beings as nest-building is of

As...AS idiom OK. Of...Of Parallelism OK. Looks good.

C) that, as language itself, is characteristic for human beings as nest-building is for

The idiom here requires two AS. We only have one.

D) which is, as language itself, characteristic for human beings as nest-building for

Can't use WHICH this way on the GMAT; it generally follows a comma

E) which, like language itself, is as characteristic for human beings as nest-building by

Can't use WHICH this way on the GMAT; it generally follows a comma

Some Kudos would be nice. I need 15 to reach the next level

generis · Answer

The official explanation is  here

ravigupta2912 · Answer

A) that is, like language itself, as characteristic of human beings as nest-building by -- As X as Y. The "by" at the end kills the comparison.

B) that, like language itself, is as characteristic of human beings as nest-building is of -- Correct.

C) that, as language itself, is characteristic for human beings as nest-building is for -- Close. But the comparison is lacking here. As X as Y. The "as" before characteristic is missing. Also the the usage of "as" before language, which is a noun.

D) which is, as language itself, characteristic for human beings as nest-building for -- Incorrect. There is no comma after universal logic and which isn't preceded by a preposition. Eliminate.

E) which, like language itself, is as characteristic for human beings as nest-building by -- Incorrect. Same as D.

poojakhanduja3017 · Answer

The correct answer is B

Seems simple once we understand the meaning. I would call it 600-700 level question.

If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic that is, like language itself, as characteristic of human beings as nest-building by birds.

A) that is, like language itself, as characteristic of human beings as nest-building by :  "That is" is wrong. If we remove  "Like language itself" , it conveys a different meaning

B) that, like language itself, is as characteristic of human beings as nest-building is of :  Correct

C) that, as language itself, is characteristic for human beings as nest-building is for:  "As" should be followed by action and Like should be followed by Noun

D) which is, as language itself, characteristic for human beings as nest-building for:  Same error as C

E) which, like language itself, is as characteristic for human beings as nest-building by:  It plays wrongly with the words "for" and "by" and uses them for the same word Characteristic. Which should be preceded by a comma.

VerbalBot · Answer

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If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

If Levi-Strauss is right, myths are constructed by a universal logic

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

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