GMAT Question:- A recent review of pay scales indicates

[keithyang926]

Hi Ron,

I remember you mentioned that, when use 'compared to', we should eliminate things such as 'more', 'less' in the sentence, for example,

e.g. The company made a great profit of 2 billion dollars this year, compared to 2 million dollars last year.

So, all the choices with 'more' and 'compared to' in this question could be discarded, am I right?

I'm just being curious, because you didn't mention the usage of 'compared to' in this question at all.

[vikram4689]

Hi Ron,

I remember you mentioned that, when use 'compared to', we should eliminate things such as 'more', 'less' in the sentence, for example,

e.g. The company made a great profit of 2 billion dollars this year, compared to 2 million dollars last year.

So, all the choices with 'more' and 'compared to' in this question could be discarded, am I right?

I'm just being curious, because you didn't mention the usage of 'compared to' in this question at all.

the point that you mentioned takes into account redundancy of using 2 comparisons for *same* thing and, hence, is valid when "more" and "compared" are used for comparing *same* entities. if they are used for comparing different entities then, even if they are present in a sentence, they are not redundant and hence that choice cannot be eliminated. see below sentence - ( i modified correct answer to use more and compared in same sentence)
CEO’s now earn 419 times more pay than blue-collar workers, as compared to 42 times more pay than blue-collar workers, the ratio in 1980s

here the structure is
(more __than__) compared to (more __than__),
if you look closely a) is trying to implement same structure and , although a) is wrong for other reasons, we cannot eliminate a) for reason you mentioned.

[vikram4689]

specifically:
you can't just write "42 times" by itself. it has to be 42 times something.
if it's 42 times something that was mentioned previously, or 42 times something that is in parallel structure to something that was mentioned previously, then you could use a relative pronoun (i.e., something like "42 times that in 1990", etc).

but you can't just leave "42 times" hanging out alone.

ron,
can i eliminate A and E for the same reason that you mentioned for B above

[tim]

sure. thanks for answering the previous poster's question too..

[vivs.gupta]

experts,

just wondering whether the following sentence is correct?

CEO’s now earn an average of 419 times more pay than blue-collar workers

Please advise.

[divineacclivity]

Please explain the answer of this

A recent review of pay scales indicates that CEO’s now earn an average of 419 times more pay than blue-collar workers, compared to a ratio of 42 times in 1980.

A. that CEO’s now earn an average of 419 times more pay than blue-collar workers, compared to a ratio of 42 times
B. that, on average, CEO’s now earn 419 times the pay of blue-collar workers, a ratio that compares to 42 times
C. that, on average, CEO’s now earn 419 times the pay of blue-collar workers, as compared to 42 times their pay, the ratio
D. CEO’s who now earn on average 419 times more pay than blue-collar workers, as compared to 42 times their pay, the ratio
E. CEO’s now earning an average of 419 times the pay of blue-collar workers, compared to the ratio of 42 times

How to eliminate between B and C . "indicates" should have "that"; hence D and E eliminated and A is wrong because it compares salary with blue -collar workers

GMAT Prep question

Isn't the reason--A is wrong because it compares salary with blue -collar workers---Incorrect? Ron earns 10 times more than Bush. Isn't this correct?

Saurabh Malpani

yeah, i think you're right: the comparison made in choice a is ok. it's not quite as ideally worded as the comparison in choices b-c-d, but, as can be seen in saurabh's ron/bush example, it's fine.

the real problems with choice a:
- 'the ratio of 42 times' is redundant; it'd be good enough just to say '42 times'. note that the word 'ratio' is not redundant in choices c-d, since it's being used as a modifier to make a logical connection.
- it doesn't say 42 times what. not only is that unacceptably vague, but it also breaks parallelism.

Hi,

Thanks, I need more clarification on this one.
Choice A simplified: A CEO earns more than a blue-collar worker (does).
verb "does" is implicit here and earning is not being compared with worker.
This seems correct. So, why would we say that salary is being compared to worker? Please clarify.
I rejected A bcs "CEO earns 419 times more than blue-collared ,compared to a ratio of 42 times" - sounded awkward. Isn't that the right basis to reject option A?

[RonPurewal]

experts,

just wondering whether the following sentence is correct?

CEO’s now earn an average of 419 times more pay than blue-collar workers

Please advise.

yes, it's correct.

[RonPurewal]

Thanks, I need more clarification on this one.
Choice A simplified: A CEO earns more than a blue-collar worker (does).
verb "does" is implicit here and earning is not being compared with worker.
This seems correct. So, why would we say that salary is being compared to worker? Please clarify.

it's not incorrect.

i understand that this exchange might be confusing, but check out what i actually wrote:
"yeah, i think you're right: the comparison made in choice a is ok."

the context is this: some other poster thought that was a basis for elimination. then saurabh said, "isn't this reason for elimination incorrect?" ... to which i responded, "yes, you're right, that's not an error."

[divineacclivity]

Thanks, I need more clarification on this one.
Choice A simplified: A CEO earns more than a blue-collar worker (does).
verb "does" is implicit here and earning is not being compared with worker.
This seems correct. So, why would we say that salary is being compared to worker? Please clarify.

it's not incorrect.

i understand that this exchange might be confusing, but check out what i actually wrote:
"yeah, i think you're right: the comparison made in choice a is ok."

the context is this: some other poster thought that was a basis for elimination. then saurabh said, "isn't this reason for elimination incorrect?" ... to which i responded, "yes, you're right, that's not an error."

Oh ok :D
Thanks :)

[tim]

:)

[thanghnvn]

pls help
in C
"as compared to ..." modified "419 times"

but I am uneasy with "as"
How "as" is used inhere?
can I drop "as" inhere.

pls, explain more

[RonPurewal]

but I am uneasy with "as"

OFFICIALLY CORRECT ANSWERS ARE CORRECT!
do not question officially correct answers!
far too many students on this forum make the mistake of questioning the correct answers; to do so is to waste your time and effort.

"is this correct?" is never a productive question to ask about one of GMAC's correct answers -- the answer is always yes.
"is this wrong?" / "is this X type of error?" is never a productive question to ask about one of GMAC's correct answers -- the answer is always no.

instead, the questions you should be asking about correct official answers, if you don't understand them, are:
"why is this correct?"
"how does this work?"
"what understanding am i lacking that i need to understand this choice?"

this is a small, but hugely significant, change to your way of thinking.
you will find it much easier to understand the format, style, and conventions of the official problems if you retire the idea that they might be wrong.

How "as" is used inhere?
can I drop "as" inhere.

in all of the material we've seen, GMAC uses "compared to..." and "as compared to..." interchangeably.

[arjeet.iitbhu]

Heyy Ron,

I learnt from "Thursday with Ron" that As/When compare to/with is always wrong and also in MGMAT SC guide it is mentioned that as compared to is doubtful. and in some previous questions i also eliminated the choice just seeing the word AS compare to.
but here is contradictory.

Please explain

Regards,
Arjeet

[jlucero]

Heyy Ron,

I learnt from "Thursday with Ron" that As/When compare to/with is always wrong and also in MGMAT SC guide it is mentioned that as compared to is doubtful. and in some previous questions i also eliminated the choice just seeing the word AS compare to.
but here is contradictory.

Please explain

Regards,
Arjeet

Seeing as you are asking Ron from the famous "Thursdays with Ron", I'm guessing you misquoted the scenario he was referring to. Do you have a link to the video/problem he was discussing? I would guess that he might have been referring to a certain scenario when this might not have worked.

[ashish-mohan]

Hi Ron, I believe you mentioned that "ratio" was redundant in A. To me it seems that ratio is redundant in C as well. In other words, can't we remove "the ratio" in C? Would it change the meaning?

that, on average, CEO’s now earn 419 times the pay of blue-collar workers, as compared to 42 times their pay, the ratio