Print out chapter

You should only compare things that can be logically compared. Faulty or nonsensical comparisons account for a significant number of errors in GMAT Sentence Correction questions. Most of these errors relate to a very simple idea that you probably learned in kindergarten: you can't compare apples to oranges. You are entirely welcome, however, to compare apples to apples, or a long sweater to a long coat, or even the baking of apple turnovers to the baking of pineapple turnovers. That is, on the GMAT, you want to compare only those things that are grammatically or logically similar. For instance, you can't logically compare a person ("Joe") to a quality ("purple"), or an item ("a banana") to a group ("the NYPD"). You have to compare one individual to another individual, one quality to another quality, or one group to another group.

Often, the comparison will sound as though it's acceptable, but will be missing a few necessary words:

Incorrect: The view from this apartment is not nearly as spectacular as from that mountain lodge.

If you read it quickly, this sentence makes perfect sense: the view from the apartment is being compared to the view from the mountain lodge. But if you look more closely, you'll see that the sentence actually compares the view from the apartment to something about the lodge — but what about it?

The comparison needs to be clarified.

Just like misplaced modifier questions, comparison questions can't be judged by the ear alone: even though you might understand what the writer is trying to say, trying doesn't cut it on the GMAT. You have to make sure the sentence actually says what it means to say. Here's the correct version:

The insertion of two little words - "the one" - makes this sentence grammatically correct, because "the view from" now has a partner in comparison: "the one from." An alternative would be to repeat "the view (from)," instead of "the one (from)," in the latter portion.

Incorrect: The view from this apartment is not nearly as spectacular as from that mountain lodge.
Correct: The view from this apartment is not nearly as spectacular as the one from that mountain lodge.
Correct: The view from this apartment is not nearly as spectacular as the view from that mountain lodge.

Let's look at another example.
Shakespeare's plays are different from any other playwrights of his era because they exhibit an exceptional mastery of verse.

Once again, the sentence sounds ok; but it actually compares Shakespeare's plays to other playwrights: an illogical comparison.

How can we fix it? By inserting a few choice words that clarify the nature of the comparison:

Like the phrase "the one from" in the last example, the phrase "those of" in this example makes it very clear that Shakespeare's plays are being compared to other playwrights' plays – not other playwrights.

Incorrect: Shakespeare's plays are different from any other playwrightsof his era because they exhibit an exceptional mastery of verse.
Correct: Shakespeare's plays are different from those of any other playwrightsof his era because they exhibit an exceptional mastery of verse.

	You should look out for key comparison words, such as:
	like less than that of	as more than those of	compared to other

Comparisons are actually a special instance of parallelism. A number of comparison-specific constructions call for you to always express ideas in parallel form. These constructions include:

Either X or Y...
Neither X nor Y...
Not only X but also Y...

X or Y can stand for as little as one word, or as much as an entire clause, but in every case, the grammatical structure of X or Y must be identical. For example, the sentence Either drinking or to eat will do violates the rule by mismatching verb forms:

This is a comparison, and requires parallelism. Both verbs must be in the same form: but as they're not currently, one must be adjusted.

Both verbs are now in the –ing form. Though in many cases of parallelism either verb form is fine, for Either/Or comparisons such as this one, both verbs must be in the –ing form.

Here's another example, using Neither/Nor:

Neither an interest in history nor to be adept in a foreign language is going to help you learn to sing.

This sentence lists two talents one could possess, in a neither/or format. They are not, however, in the same form.

In this sentence, a noun is compared to a verb. Though it's a different kind of mistake than the missing-information and verb-form errors we've looked at, it should be dealt with in the same way: by shifting one of the forms to match the other.

Both phrases are now in the same form: "an interest in" and "an adeptness in". In this instance, the verb had to be changed to match the noun, instead of the other way around, because "to be" verbs don't belong in comparison (either/or, neither/nor) sentences.

Incorrect: Neither an interest in history nor to be adept in a foreign language is going to help you learn to sing.
Correct: Neither an interest in history nor an adeptness in a foreign language is going to help you learn to sing.

If you're confused about whether a comparison is correct, check to see whether the comparison is both logical (according to the standards of GMAT English) and grammatical.

Back to Top

Examples

1. Jerry gives less to charity than any other church member.

As this sentence is constructed, it's impossible to tell whether Jerry gives less to charity than any other church member does, or if he gives less money to charity than he gives to any other church member. But since it's probably unlikely that Jerry gives money to other church members, you want to clarify that the comparison is between what Jerry gives to the church, and what any other church member gives to the church. The simplest way to fix this is to add a "does" after "church member". "Does" stands in for "gives to the church", and the statement now directly compares what Jerry gives to what other church members give. (Note: if Jerry were to give something quantifiable, like dollars then it would be, "Jerry gives fewer dollars..." instead of less.)

2. The sports writer questioned the skill of basketball players compared to tennis players.

This sentence compares "the skill of basketball players" to "tennis players" themselves – not their skill. As in the example above, a short phrase – in this case, "that of" - will suffice in making the proper comparison clear. The correct sentence should read: The sports writer questioned the skill of basketball players compared to that of tennis players.

Click here for a guide to forming, and using, comparative and superlative forms.

Need more help? Classroom prep and tutoring through our GMAT Course Locator.

Back to Top

E. Verb Time Sequences	G. Idioms