Dave plays the guitar better than Steve does. A) Dave plays

Question

Dave plays the guitar better than Steve does.

A) Dave plays the guitar better than Steve does.
B) Dave is a better player of the guitar than Steve.
C) Dave plays the guitar better than Steve plays.
D) Dave plays the guitar better than Steve.
E) Dave plays the guitar better than Steve plays it.

vksunder · Answer

I've narrowed it down to A and C. I'll have to go with  A  since C repeats the verb 'plays' -- DOES should be used as opposed to Plays.

farend · Answer

Guys, I'm confused on ellipsis vs parallelism.
Verbal gurus, pls provide your opinions on this one.

hanumayamma · Answer

A) Dave plays the guitar better than Steve does.  
B) Dave is a better player of the guitar than Steve.  
C) Dave plays the guitar better than Steve plays.  
D) Dave plays the guitar better than Steve.  
E) Dave plays the guitar better than Steve plays it.

Answer: A

farend · Answer

I don have OA.
I made up this question to understand how should ellipsis/parallelism will applied here? What is the reason that "does"/"plays" should be appended in the end?

hanumayamma · Answer

Hi bsd_lover,

Thanks for your answer. Yes, this is a good elliptical sentence example.
Dave plays the guitar better than Steve [plays]. --> [plays] missing part of the elliptical clause

more infor - https://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/ ... al_clauses

Thanks,

kidderek · Answer

Hmmm, I don't remember mgmat SC ever mentioning ellipsis. I think this is a clear A.

bsd_lover · Answer

Kidderek, you're right, MGMAT does not mention it, but other books, including Kaplan, mention it quite clearly.

farend · Answer

Paul; In case you look at this, pls provide your comments.

Thanks;
farend

yavasani · Answer

B I think is wordy, D has comparision issue. C - To me the comparision is not clear does steve play piano or another instrument better than Dave ? E - Again the comparision is not clear. So my pick would be A.

kidderek · Answer

This seems to be a simple case of comparisions. I remember reading somewhere, can't remember if it was PR or mgmat, but they said that the GMAT tests GMAT grammar, not English grammar. And they looooooove testing comparison of apples and oranges.

Here's a classic case of comparing act of playing with a person. So, I'll stick with A.

I've pm-ed kevincan to take a look at it. Hopefully, some of the verbal gurus can chime in.

Paul · Answer

I agree with kidderek that in English grammar, ellipses are perfectly fine and thus, D would make perfect sense. However, GMAT grammar likes to compare apples to apples so A could then make more sense.

From my own experience, the only resource material where a question specifically tests the concept ellipses and narrows it down to two choices like in A and D is Baron (which I recommend anybody to stay clear of). The truth is that in GMAT world, you could very well have this concept tested but it would instead be part of a question which also tests other concepts. Thus, I believe that it would be extremely unlikely that you will be confronted with choosing between GMAT grammar or English grammar so you can rest assured. This question has got to be a copycat from Baron as I clearly remember a question very similar.

kevincan · Answer

For clarity and parallel structure, I would choose A over D

Dave plays the guitar better than Steve does. A) Dave plays

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