Officials at the United States Mint believe that

[nrohatgi]

Officials at the Unites States Mint believe that the Sacagawea dollar coin will be used more as a substitue for four quaters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1gms, is far less than four quaters, which weigh 5.67 gms each.

a) same
b) more as a substitute for four quaters than the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1gms, far lighter than
c) as a substitue for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 gms, far less than
d) as a substitue for four quarters more than the dollar bill because its weight of only 8.1gms is far lighter than it is for
e) as a substitute more for four qurters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight , only 8.1gms, is far less than it is for

correct answer is C.

My question is there a sequence whether "more" or "substitute" comes first.

Will the following be correct too?
1) more as a substitute for four quarters than for dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 gms, far less than

Thanks.

[StaceyKoprince]

Please remember to use the first 8 words (or as many as will fit) as your subject heading.

You can do something like what you're suggesting, but you'd have to do this:
"more as a substitute for four quarters than as a substitute for a dollar bill"
this construction makes the idiom More X than Y, so the X and Y have to be parallel, thereby requiring us to repeat "as a substitute for" each time. Which is definitely not concise, but it could be right if you didn't have a more concise (and still grammatically correct) option.

[Saurabh Malpani]

Hello--Jad, Stacey, Ron

Doesn't C read as weight is less that FOUR QUATERS as in in other terms. In Short I think the comparision is Incomplete. What do you guys thinks? Is the comparision complete?

I thought none of the options were correct.

Officials at the Unites States Mint believe that the Sacagawea dollar coin will be used more as a substitue for four quaters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1gms, is far less than four quaters, which weigh 5.67 gms each.

a) same
b) more as a substitute for four quaters than the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1gms, far lighter than
c) as a substitue for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 gms, far less than
d) as a substitue for four quarters more than the dollar bill because its weight of only 8.1gms is far lighter than it is for
e) as a substitute more for four qurters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight , only 8.1gms, is far less than it is for

correct answer is C.

My question is there a sequence whether "more" or "substitute" comes first.

Will the following be correct too?
1) more as a substitute for four quarters than for dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 gms, far less than

Thanks.

[StaceyKoprince]

Well, seeing as it's GMATPrep, you know that one of the options is correct. These questions have been tested extensively - first to be used on the official GMAT and then only the best ones out of there were pulled for GMATPrep.

"it weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than four quarters, which weigh 5.67 grams each."

That's fine b/c it no longer uses "weight" as the subject (as choice A does). Instead, the coin itself (referred to here with the pronoun "it") is the subject - and I should compare coins to coins, hence "four quarters" rather than "the weight of four quarters."

[Guest]

Thanks Stacey, awesome explanation!!

Is the placement of "MORE" wrong in A? I think More for X than for Y . Is parallel and non-ambigious.

Saurabh Malpani

[RonPurewal]

Thanks Stacey, awesome explanation!!

Is the placement of "MORE" wrong in A? I think More for X than for Y . Is parallel and non-ambigious.

Saurabh Malpani

this question is answered here, in the first part of my rather lengthy quote-filled post.

the problem is not grammatical; rather, the problem is that there are two competing interpretations of that phrasing, and, unfortunately, both are legitimate.

[deadpig1987hahaha]

Please remember to use the first 8 words (or as many as will fit) as your subject heading.

You can do something like what you're suggesting, but you'd have to do this:
"more as a substitute for four quarters than as a substitute for a dollar bill"
this construction makes the idiom More X than Y, so the X and Y have to be parallel, thereby requiring us to repeat "as a substitute for" each time. Which is definitely not concise, but it could be right if you didn't have a more concise (and still grammatically correct) option.

Stacy, could you explain more about the idiom More X than Y?
It appears to me that X and Y doesn't need to be parallel in most of such cases.
For example, A is more beautiful than B
this is obviously a correct sentence but X (beautiful) does not parallel to Y(B).

[RonPurewal]

Stacy, could you explain more about the idiom More X than Y?
It appears to me that X and Y doesn't need to be parallel in most of such cases.
For example, A is more beautiful than B
this is obviously a correct sentence but X (beautiful) does not parallel to Y(B).

you have to use context.

if it's "NOUN1 is more ADJ than NOUN2", as in "jim is more charismatic than his brother", then NOUN1 and NOUN2 must be parallel.

if it's "NOUN is more THING1 than THING2", where THING1 and THING2 are two different attributes that are being compared (whether adjectives or nouns), then THING1 and THING2 must be parallel.
example: "that paint is more yellow than orange"; "i'm more of a lover than a fighter"

--

with most parallel constructions, it's much MUCH easier to use context (and good old intuition) to determine what should be parallel than to rely on some obscure rule.
in some problems, it's actually necessary (i.e., grammar allows multiple different possibilities for what's parallel and what's not, so you have to use the context of the sentence to narrow it down).

[thanghnvn]

of course I choose C. but why B is wrong? pls explain.
we do need repeat "for" in B . B is paralell already. Is that right?

what is wrong with "lighter than " in B, pls, explain.
Thank you.

[RonPurewal]

of course I choose C. but why B is wrong? pls explain.
we do need repeat "for" in B . B is paralell already. Is that right?

thanghnvn, please type your sentences more carefully. it seems that you've forgotten the word "not" (a rather important word) in your question here, among other errors.

"for" is absolutely necessary.

if you write
X will be used for Y more than for Z
(as in the correct answer)
then the two cases being compared are (a) X used in place of Y, (b) X used in place of Z.

on the other hand, if you write
X will be used for Y more than Z
(as in choice b)
then that can be interpreted differently: (a) X used in place of Y vs. (b) Z used in place of Y.

[xiaonvhai123]

Hi, experts:
I have a question about " far lighter than" and " far less than".
What's the difference between this two? Are both of them correct?

When I did this problem, I though we can never use "less" do describe "grams" (IMO grams should be a countable thing...), so I kill ACE at the first glance...

Would you like to help me on this point?

[thanghnvn]

thank you Ron/

the take away is that when we see comparison,immediately we should think about two possible meanings/interpretations to realize the choice making the ambiguity. Normally, there will be prepostion or helping verb in correct choice to eliminate the ambiguity choice.

[jlucero]

Hi, experts:
I have a question about " far lighter than" and " far less than".
What's the difference between this two? Are both of them correct?

When I did this problem, I though we can never use "less" do describe "grams" (IMO grams should be a countable thing...), so I kill ACE at the first glance...

Would you like to help me on this point?

An idiom to memorize:

A THING is lighter than another THING. (compares nouns)
Something has a WEIGHT that is less than another WEIGHT (compares two thing's properties)

Our sentence after the word because:

its weight, only 8.1gms, is far less than four quaters, which weigh 5.67 gms each.

B&D eliminated

[jlucero]

thank you Ron/

the take away is that when we see comparison,immediately we should think about two possible meanings/interpretations to realize the choice making the ambiguity. Normally, there will be prepostion or helping verb in correct choice to eliminate the ambiguity choice.

Correct. Ambiguity is to be avoided as part of proper meaning.

[thanghnvn]

Officials at the Unites States Mint believe that the Sacagawea dollar coin will be used more as a substitue for four quaters rather than for the dollar bill because its weight, only 8.1gms, is far less than four quaters, which weigh 5.67 gms each.

a) same
b) more as a substitute for four quaters than the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1gms, far lighter than
c) as a substitue for four quarters more than for the dollar bill because it weighs only 8.1 gms, far less than

"far lighter than", "far less than" are appositive which should modify the a noun/number immediately preceding. So, "far lighter than" must modifies 8,1 gms, making it nonsense. B is incorrect.

is my thinking correct?