So-called green taxes, which exact a price for the use

[divineacclivity]

If I try to "trim" the sentence, I see
...green taxes...are having a...effect on ... base of countries as varied as China, the Netherlands, and Hungary.
By looking at A, I am confused what are being compared.
The green taxes of different countries are varied? Or The effects of green taxes in different countries are varied? Or the environment and natural resource bases of different countries are varied?
By putting C back to the sentence, the sentence kind of means that the green taxes of different countries are varied.
Won't C be a better choice?
Thanks in advance.

there's no ambiguity.

if i say:
wow! i've never seen a pumpkin as big as that one!
the only possible meaning is that i've never seen a pumpkin whose size is greater than or equal to x, where x is the size of the pumpkin i'm currently contemplating. in other words, 'as big as that one' is a modifier that modifies 'pumpkin' (and not any of the words that come before it).

same deal in this sentence, just with a lot more words thrown in.

Ron,

Consider a similar sentence:
Let's talk about the natural resources of countries as varied as China, country Y, and country Z - please note that here we have NO commas before "as varied as"

My question: Does "as varied as", in the sentence above, can only modify countries and not the resources? Or, is the sentence ambiguous because it could modify either of the two - countries or resources?
Please explain. Thanks in advance.

[jlucero]

"something as X as Y" is an expression that needs to refer to a noun- in this example "something." Treat this like you would adjective modifiers. With lots of nouns potentially in a sentence, you need to place this expression next to the noun you wish to modify to avoid confusion.

Let's talk about the natural resources of countries as varied as China.

Let's talk about natural resources as varied as gold, helium, and tin.

[shreerajp99]

Hi,i marked C by mistake but then realized that if the original sentence was say as varied as those of China's,then it wouldve been correct.Am i right here?

[tim]

no. "countries as varied as those of China's"? you're basically saying "countries as varied as the countries of China's countries"!

[shreerajp99]

Thanks,got it :)

[tim]

cool :)

[franck_pan]

There's a very subtle difference in meaning, although Stacey is correct that the main issue is that of redundancy/wordiness. But consider the difference between these two sentences, which would illustrate the point:
(1) I get mail from cities as far away as Providence.
(2) I get mail from cities that are as far away as Providence.

If I'm in San Francisco, then sentence #2 means, strangely enough, that I get mail from cities that are all exactly 3,082 miles away (the distance from SF to Providence). Sentence #1 implies no such thing.

Similarly, the wrong answer (D) seems to imply that EACH country is somehow as 'varied' as EACH other country. That's not the intended meaning, which is that the SET of countries is varied.

Hi Ron,

I dont really understand your meaning "the wrong answer (D) seems to imply that EACH country is somehow as 'varied' as EACH other country"...could you please explain the meaning difference again in plain language?..thanks!

[RonPurewal]

I dont really understand your meaning "the wrong answer (D) seems to imply that EACH country is somehow as 'varied' as EACH other country"...could you please explain the meaning difference again in plain language?..thanks!

"... is/are as ADJECTIVE as ..." is a construction that equates two things, in terms of the quality described by the adjective.
e.g.,
people who are as tall as my brother = my brother is 6'4", so this would mean other people who are also 6'4".

similarly
This system is used in cities as large as New York --> this construction doesn't imply that all of the cities are exactly the same size; it's just singling out NY as a particularly large, significant example.
This system is used in cities that are as large as New York --> this would refer only to cities that are actually the same size as NYC.

if you understand this pair of examples (and also the pair of examples with SF and Providence, in my post above), then just make the appropriate analogy to these sentences.
if the construction is still causing you trouble after you consider these examples, then it's best just to let it go; the probability that it will be tested again is virtually nil.

[harishmullapudi]

If I try to "trim" the sentence, I see
...green taxes...are having a...effect on ... base of countries as varied as China, the Netherlands, and Hungary.
By looking at A, I am confused what are being compared.
The green taxes of different countries are varied? Or The effects of green taxes in different countries are varied? Or the environment and natural resource bases of different countries are varied?
By putting C back to the sentence, the sentence kind of means that the green taxes of different countries are varied.
Won't C be a better choice?
Thanks in advance.

there's no ambiguity.

if i say:
wow! i've never seen a pumpkin as big as that one!
the only possible meaning is that i've never seen a pumpkin whose size is greater than or equal to x, where x is the size of the pumpkin i'm currently contemplating. in other words, 'as big as that one' is a modifier that modifies 'pumpkin' (and not any of the words that come before it).

same deal in this sentence, just with a lot more words thrown in.

Very nice explanation Ron.

In the below sentence, help me whether I understand it correctly. (By the way, do I need to use 'understand' or 'understood' in this very sentence? :) )

"countries as varied as China, Netherlands and India."
This phrase means countries are varied in the same way as China, Netherlands and India are varied among themselves. Is that correct? If not can you please tell them what exactly that phrase means?

[jlucero]

Very nice explanation Ron.

In the below sentence, help me whether I understand it correctly. (By the way, do I need to use 'understand' or 'understood' in this very sentence? :) )

"countries as varied as China, Netherlands and India."
This phrase means countries are varied in the same way as China, Netherlands and India are varied among themselves. Is that correct? If not can you please tell them what exactly that phrase means?

Your understanding is correct here. Those three countries are varied.

Also, you can say understand/understood depending on whether you mean now/past. But you do need to say "Tell me" rather than "Help me". I can't help you whether something, unless you want me to "help you whether you X or Y" i.e. "help me whether I study or not"

[AbhilashM94]

>>the probability that it will be tested again is virtually nil.

Ron,

Why do you say this? I have been studying from GMAT Prep and OG materials quite a but.


Also I too dont get this subtle difference.

[RonPurewal]

There's no way your official exam will contain exactly the same subtle difference. I'd bet tens of thousands of dollars on that. It won't be there.
If exactly the same issue were to appear on the real test, then people who had memorized it, verbatim, from the Prep materials would have an advantage. The entire test is construction so as not to give such individuals an advantage.

If a construction is actually a major topic (e.g., parallel structures like both x and y), then you might see the same construction on the real test as on the prep materials. Not the little things.

[RavindraK329]

Hi Ron,

I chose option C.

In option C:

What does "Those" refer to? I thought "those"refers to "Green-Taxes". However, in your post it refers to " the environment and natural resource". How?

Please help.

Ravi

[RonPurewal]

there's little point in trying to nail down a noun for "those", because "those" shouldn't be there at all.

the "variety" exists among the countries themselves (China, the Netherlands, and Hungary). it doesn't exist among "the ____ of those countries", regardless of the noun you put into "____".

[RakshithG27]

There's a very subtle difference in meaning, although Stacey is correct that the main issue is that of redundancy/wordiness. But consider the difference between these two sentences, which would illustrate the point:
(1) I get mail from cities as far away as Providence.
(2) I get mail from cities that are as far away as Providence.

If I'm in San Francisco, then sentence #2 means, strangely enough, that I get mail from cities that are all exactly 3,082 miles away (the distance from SF to Providence). Sentence #1 implies no such thing.

Similarly, the wrong answer (D) seems to imply that EACH country is somehow as 'varied' as EACH other country. That's not the intended meaning, which is that the SET of countries is varied.

Wow! Blown away by your explanations! Ron please come to India and set up Manhattan Prep in India. Im sure India is the next best market after USA in the GMAT Universe.