An inquiry regarding comparison

[ZhengJ600]

Hi GMAT Experts,

In this sentence, "prices of apples will stay higher than they usually are", is "are" used incorrectly? Should we use "do" instead, as in "prices of apples will stay higher than they usually do" so that it is parallel with "stay"?

In addition, we can also say "prices of apples will stay higher than usual", but I'm slightly confused what "usual" is being compared to here. Are "prices" being omitted here? Can we interpret this sentence as "prices of apples will stay higher than usual (apples)"?

Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you for your help.

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

In this sentence, "prices of apples will stay higher than they usually are", is "are" used incorrectly? Should we use "do" instead, as in "prices of apples will stay higher than they usually do" so that it is parallel with "stay"?

Good question. The example "prices of apples will stay higher than they usually do" sounds very odd to me. Think of the meaning: 'prices of apples will stay higher than they usually stay' - that doesn't really make sense. The first example "prices of apples will stay higher than they usually are" sounds okay to my ear, but the issue of helper verbs in comparisons is quite a tricky area. Take a look at this thread: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... ml#p128802

In addition, we can also say "prices of apples will stay higher than usual", but I'm slightly confused what "usual" is being compared to here. Are "prices" being omitted here? Can we interpret this sentence as "prices of apples will stay higher than usual (apples)"?

Your example "prices of apples will stay higher than usual" sounds okay to me. I don't think it's ambiguous, as it would be uncharitable to interpret 'usual' as 'usual apples'. It's good practice to follow a Principle of Charity when interpreting sentences, i.e. not to go against a reasonable interpretation of a sentence (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_charity).

Although these are interesting discussions, it's worth remembering that GMAT English is simply one type of English that follows certain rules. We're not talking about what's fundamentally correct (if there is such a thing), but just about what GMAT problems might test you on. For that reason, I encourage you to base your studies around GMAT problems, preferably from the Official Guides or the GMAT Prep practice tests, or our Manhattan Prep materials. You don't need to know everything about English to do well on GMAT.

[ZhengJ600]

Thanks Sage. This is based on an OG problem. I understand the rules that we're not allowed to post actual OG problems, so I changed it up to try to understand the fundamentals here. Looks like that I have focused on the incorrect splits here

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

No problem.