lower than vs less than

[paruloberai]

can anybody pls help me on this.

this question appears in both OG:_

Although the government costs for malpractice disputes amounted to less than 1 percent of $541, ( followed by a clause)

while OG says that less than is correct, kaplan 800 for a similar question ( Although the government's expenditures on law suits involving tobacco companies amounts to a sum dramatically (lower than or less than) that spent by tobacco companies, many believe that the government should allocate no more funds to a battle they perceive as pointless.)

says that lower than is correct for countable things like sum etc, and less is suitable for uncountable things and hence, lower than is correct. Using the same logic lower than should be correct in the first question, but less than is correct.

pls help that which usage is correct?

thanks,
parul.

[NIKESH_PAHUJA]

@Parul

Its always advisable to follow OG explanation.

In its light, less than is correct. Better to stick to it because its GMAC playgroud :-)

[Ben Ku]

Hi Parul,

In all things GMAT, go to the source, the Official Guides, to figure out what it correct. Beyond that, I cannot go into details about your question because it pertains to the OG and Kaplan sources, both are banned on these forums.