Quantities

Question

Hi Mike,
So far i have concluded the following.
Please correct, if anything is wrong.
Also, please explain the doubts below.

For ( > sense) measure of countable/uncountable entities, we use:
great, greater, greatest
5% of accidents were  caused by speeding vehicles – greater than were/was caused by drunk drivers.
OR
high, higher, highest
The percentage of pens in the blue box is higher than that in the red box.

For (< sense) measure of countable entities, we use:
few, fewer, fewest
1% of accidents were  caused by speeding vehicles – fewer than were/was caused by drunk drivers.
The percentage of pens in the blue box is fewer(/lower?) than that in the red box.

For (< sense) measure of uncountable entities, we use:
little, less, least
There is less than 75% of the water left in the glass.
There are less than 6 ounces of water left in the glass.
Thanks and regards,

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear tushain , I'm happy to respond. :-)

Some of these issues are addressed in this blog: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-compa ... -vs-fewer/ First of all, for "percent of X" == if X is singular, then "percent of X" is singular == if X is plural, then "percent of X" is plural N% of accidents = plural Next, there are three different categories you need to understand 1) countable items 2) uncountable items 3) numbers For increasing scenarios, we use " more " for both countable & uncountable. Your sentence is wrong: 5% of accidents were caused by speeding vehicles – greater than were/was caused by drunk drivers. Correct: Five percent of accidents were caused by speeding vehicles – more than were caused by drunk drivers. BTW, because a sentence must begin with a capitalized word, it's consider in poor taste to begin an English sentence with a numeral. If a number begins the sentence, as it does here, it is considered proper to write the number as a word and capitalize the first word. That's not a point tested on the GMAT, but that is something good to know for your own writing. What's tricky about "the percentage of" --- that's no longer a countable item. That's a number. A percentage, by itself, is a number. For numbers, and for numbers only, we use " greater " (or, in rare cases, " higher "). The percentage of pens in the blue box is greater than that in the red box. ( higher sounds funny here) The speed of sound is greater in water than in air. The number of children without a laptop is greater than those with one . The construction " the number of " anything is a number, not a countable item. For decreasing, we use "less" for cases #1 and #3, and "fewer" for case #2. Your first sentence there is correct: One percent of accidents were caused by speeding vehicles – fewer than were caused by drunk drivers. The problem with the sentence sentence there is that, again, "the percentage of" is a number. This again is in case #3, not case #2, and therefore we need "less." The percentage of pens in the blue box is less than that in the red box. It's true that in case #1, we use less, so your first sentence for this case is correct. There is less than 75% of the water left in the glass. The trouble with the last --- the subject of the sentence are the "ounces," and this is precisely why the verb is plural. Water is uncountable, but water is not the subject. Ounces are the subject, and ounces are countable. Therefore, this is a case #2 sentence. There are fewer than 6 ounces of water left in the glass. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

tushain · Answer

thanks Mike

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