The number of people flying first

[RonPurewal]

Can "Comma + twice as many as" and "Comma + twice the number" modify entire preceding clause as does the abstract noun, i.e. discovery, in the below example?

Or do the two structures, not only the former, only refer to explicitly numerical quantities?

I don't think I understand your question.
How could something that's not a numerical quantity be 2 times something else?
"2 times..." or "twice as much/many..." are meaningless concepts unless you are talking about numbers.

Please clarify, thanks.

[RonPurewal]

"in the country, as many people like to read books as people like to watch TV"
"as many people like to read books in country X as do people in country Y"

Both incorrect, yes.

[manhhiep2509]

"in the country, as many people like to read books as people like to watch TV"
"as many people like to read books in country X as do people in country Y"

Both incorrect, yes.

Please explain what the difference between the sentences is to make the two above sentences incorrect but the below sentence correct.

"Ann have as many pens as does John"

[thanghnvn]

The number of people flying first class on domestic flights rose sharply in 1990, doubling the increase of the the previous year.

a.
b. doubling that of the increase in
c. double as much as the increase of
d. twice as many as the increase in
e. twice as many as the increase of

GMAT Prep question

C is wrong because "double as much as" is not idiomatic. Is that right?

why "twice as much as" can be correct and "double as much as" can not be correct?

Pls, explain. Thank you

[Haibara]

"in the country, as many people like to read books as people like to watch TV"
"as many people like to read books in country X as do people in country Y"

Both incorrect, yes.

Please explain what the difference between the sentences is to make the two above sentences incorrect but the below sentence correct.

"Ann have as many pens as does John"

Ron，sorry, I'm not pumping the thread. I just have the same question as the student in the quote. I've noticed you said:

let's try that with yours. (i'm going to assume you meant to write "in" before "1990".)
more than 10 times as much energy is generated through wind power now as that was generated [in] 1990.
more than 10 times as much energy is generated through wind power now as energy was generated [in] 1990.

that latter thing isn't a sentence, because "energy was generated in 1990" is already a sentence.

If you're going to say COMMA + "twice as many as...", then that's incorrect unless there's actually a quantity in front of the comma.
e.g.
last year i read 40 books, twice as many as i read in the preceding year
--> correct

Ron, if you think, as you said in the first quote, "energy was generated in 1990" is already a sentence, so the following sentence is incorrect:
more than 10 times as much energy is generated through wind power now as energy was generated [in] 1990.
Then, how could you say the below sentence is correct? Since there is also a sentence "i read in the preceding year" after the "as".
last year i read 40 books, twice as many as i read in the preceding year.

Further more, is the sentence below correct?
more than ten times as much energy is generated through wind power now as was generated in 1990.

Finally, I want to ask, the word "many" in "twice as many as" of the last sentence is a adjective or a pronoun or a noun?

Please kindly clarify, thanks a lot.

[RonPurewal]

Ron, if you think, as you said in the first quote, "energy was generated in 1990" is already a sentence, so the following sentence is incorrect:
more than 10 times as much energy is generated through wind power now as energy was generated [in] 1990.
Then, how could you say the below sentence is correct? Since there is also a sentence "i read in the preceding year" after the "as".
last year i read 40 books, twice as many as i read in the preceding year.

In this context it's not complete, since the object of "read" is missing from the second part.
That missing object is "books""”the focus of the comparison itself. That's why the comparison works.

If this isn't clear, the confusion may result from the fact that "read" can also be used without an object, to describe the general act of reading (I'm going to lie down and read). But, in this sentence, it's clear that we're talking about reading a specific thing both times.

To make this more clear, just construct an analogous sentence using a verb that does require an object, e.g., "say":
John has said more words in the last 10 minutes than he said all of last year.
"Said" can't ever be used without an object, so it's probably much more obvious why the right-hand side is not a standalone sentence here.

[RonPurewal]

[color]Further more, is the sentence below correct?
more than ten times as much energy is generated through wind power now as was generated in 1990.

Technically yes, but it doesn't compare the amount of energy generated by wind power in both years.
Taken literally, this sentence means that the amount of wind power generated now is greater than the combined amount of all power generated in 1990. (The modifiers are "is generated through wind power" and "was generated".)

[RonPurewal]

Finally, I want to ask, the word "many" in "twice as many as" of the last sentence is a adjective or a pronoun or a noun?

I have no clue.

("As many as" will never be parallel to anything, so it doesn't matter.)

[manhhiep2509]

Ron, if you think, as you said in the first quote, "energy was generated in 1990" is already a sentence, so the following sentence is incorrect:
more than 10 times as much energy is generated through wind power now as energy was generated [in] 1990.
Then, how could you say the below sentence is correct? Since there is also a sentence "i read in the preceding year" after the "as".
last year i read 40 books, twice as many as i read in the preceding year.

In this context it's not complete, since the object of "read" is missing from the second part.
That missing object is "books""”the focus of the comparison itself. That's why the comparison works.

If this isn't clear, the confusion may result from the fact that "read" can also be used without an object, to describe the general act of reading (I'm going to lie down and read). But, in this sentence, it's clear that we're talking about reading a specific thing both times.

To make this more clear, just construct an analogous sentence using a verb that does require an object, e.g., "say":
John has said more words in the last 10 minutes than he said all of last year.
"Said" can't ever be used without an object, so it's probably much more obvious why the right-hand side is not a standalone sentence here.

Hi Ron.

This is your example in another post:

"Parking spots are disappearing much more quickly today than they were yesterday"

Why is "they were" in the example not complete sentence but "do people" in the below is complete sentence?

"in the country, as many people like to read books as people like to watch TV"
"as many people like to read books in country X as do people in country Y"

Both incorrect, yes.

[Haibara]

Ron, if you think, as you said in the first quote, "energy was generated in 1990" is already a sentence, so the following sentence is incorrect:
more than 10 times as much energy is generated through wind power now as energy was generated [in] 1990.
Then, how could you say the below sentence is correct? Since there is also a sentence "i read in the preceding year" after the "as".
last year i read 40 books, twice as many as i read in the preceding year.

In this context it's not complete, since the object of "read" is missing from the second part.
That missing object is "books""”the focus of the comparison itself. That's why the comparison works.

If this isn't clear, the confusion may result from the fact that "read" can also be used without an object, to describe the general act of reading (I'm going to lie down and read). But, in this sentence, it's clear that we're talking about reading a specific thing both times.

To make this more clear, just construct an analogous sentence using a verb that does require an object, e.g., "say":
John has said more words in the last 10 minutes than he said all of last year.
"Said" can't ever be used without an object, so it's probably much more obvious why the right-hand side is not a standalone sentence here.

Hi Ron.

This is your example in another post:

"Parking spots are disappearing much more quickly today than they were yesterday"

Why is "they were" in the example not complete sentence but "do people" in the below is complete sentence?

"in the country, as many people like to read books as people like to watch TV"
"as many people like to read books in country X as do people in country Y"

Both incorrect, yes.

manhhiep2509,in your example sentence:

#1"Parking spots are disappearing much more quickly today than they were yesterday."

"they were yesterday" is absolutely not a complete sentence. A subject followed only by a link verb can't stand for a sentence. If you edit your sentence into:

#2Parking spots are disappearing much more quickly today than they were disappearing yesterday.

Now "they were disappearing yesterday" is a complete sentence, though I still believe #2 is a grammatically correct sentence, even with a complete sentence as the second part of a comparison. My conjecture for the correctness of #2 is that the focus of the comparison--- the words immediately following "more", which is"quickly" in #2,----is missing in the second half of the comparison. So, even if the second part of the comparison is a legitimate sentence, #2 still works, as a grammatically correct sentence, even a bit redundant than your #1.

And about your example in the last quote, I think the correct version should be:

#3In the country, as many people like to read books as like to watch TV.

#4As many people like to read books in country X as like to read books in country Y

But I think the last sentence could be better paraphrased into the following:

#5There are as many people who like to read books in country X as there are in country Y.

In the above sentence, I guess, interpolating "people who like to read books" between "there are" and "in" is not allowed.

Ron, sorry for posting like an instructor. Please censure me if anything I wrote above is misleading. I'm glad to take it.

Now, I have another question. I somewhat don't understand the following sentences:

1>Physics involves more philosophy than it does maths.
2>Physics involves more philosophy than it involves maths.

I'm sure 1>is grammatically correct, but is 2>also correct? Apparently, the second half of the comparison"it involves maths" is a legitimate sentence. And 2> is very strange, compared to those sentences #1#2#3#4#5 in the earlier part of this post. Unlike those sentences, the focus of the comparison"philosophy"(since it directly follows "more") is nowhere to be appropriately put in the second half of the comparison"it involves maths". So, I'm wondering, containing a complete sentence as the second half of a comparison in such case as 2> is correct or not?

Ron, sorry for such a long tedious post. Appreciate every comment you make. Thanks.

[RonPurewal]

---

[RonPurewal]

Apparently, the second half of the comparison"it involves maths" is a legitimate sentence.

I can see that, but it's fundamentally different. It's been stripped of the intended meaning, and conveys something altogether different.

For instance:
I travel within the U.S. more often than I travel to other countries.
You're right that "I travel to other countries" is a complete sentence"”but it absolutely does not convey the meaning that it does here.
By itself, that sentence suggests that I travel to other countries regularly (in accordance with the normal use of the present tense for discrete activities). In the original sentence, the meaning is very different, suggesting that it's a less regular activity than domestic travel. It may even be quite rare.

[RonPurewal]

#4As many people like to read books in country X as like to read books in country Y

But I think the last sentence could be better paraphrased into the following:

#5There are as many people who like to read books in country X as there are in country Y.

In the above sentence, I guess, interpolating "people who like to read books" between "there are" and "in" is not allowed.

You could put that in, if you really wanted to. E.g., There are as many mosquitoes at this lake as there are people in New York City is a legitimate sentence.

[RonPurewal]

You might find these sentences easier to process if you just
1/ find the comparison signals (e.g., "more ... than ...")
2/ find the second part of the comparison"”which will always be bounded by a signal word (e.g., whatever follows "than")
3/ go back and see whether you can find something parallel to it.

There will be a few idiomatic comparisons that won't submit to this type of consideration (You're breathing harder than usual), but, for sentences like the one in this problem"”and, in practice, for just about any comparison that GMAC might ever want to test"”it should work just fine.

[Haibara]

---

Ron,sorry, I'm even more puzzled by this explanation.
sc-comparison-t17024.html
On the 11th floor of the thread in the link, you clearly said that "Chemistry involves less philosophy than it does physics. " is a correct sentence , because it removes the ambiguity lying in the sentence "Chemistry involves less philosophy than physics."

If I misunderstood something in the quote, please give me another interpretation from a different perspective. Thanks very much.