SC : Crack-GMAT Test Q

[Samy]

The market for recycled commodities like aluminum and other metals remain strong
despite economic changes in the recycling industry.
A. commodities like aluminum and other metals remain
B. commodities like those of aluminum and other metals are remaining
C. commodities such as aluminum and other metals remains
D. commodities, such as aluminum and other metals, remain
E. commodities, like the commodities of aluminum and other metals, remains

Can E be correct ?
Thanks.

[dbernst]

Samy,

Answer choice E can definitely NOT be correct. The first split I notice is "like" v. "such as." On the GMAT, "like" means "similar to," while "such as" introduces examples. In this case, aluminum and other metals are examples of actual metals, so "like" is incorrect. Eliminate A, B, and E. The remaining split concerns verb tense: is "remain" or "remains" correct? In this case, "the market" is the singular subject, so the correct verb is the singular "remains."

The correct answer is C

-dan

The market for recycled commodities like aluminum and other metals remain strong
despite economic changes in the recycling industry.
A. commodities like aluminum and other metals remain
B. commodities like those of aluminum and other metals are remaining
C. commodities such as aluminum and other metals remains
D. commodities, such as aluminum and other metals, remain
E. commodities, like the commodities of aluminum and other metals, remains

Can E be correct ?
Thanks.

[Samy]

Thanks. I too agree and ticked C.
But to my disappointment I was shocked to see E as the Ans.
Thank God I posted it here and got it cleared.
Thanks Dan.. :D

[gmat.acer]

After reading this example I realized that some examples of such as are used with a preceding comma and some(such as this example) are used without a comma. Is there any rule when to use comma with "such as"?

[jnelson0612]

After reading this example I realized that some examples of such as are used with a preceding comma and some(such as this example) are used without a comma. Is there any rule when to use comma with "such as"?

That is an interesting question. There is a difference; check out this link: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_a_comma_ ... such_as%27

However, I can't imagine the GMAT will make that the only distinction between a right and a wrong answer. Once you get the answers narrowed to C and D you can use subject/verb agreement to determine the correct answer, and as you can see that gets you to the correct answer immediately.

[gmat.acer]

Oh restrictive Vs. non-restrictive. That makes sense. Perfect.

Thanks for sharing the link!

After reading this example I realized that some examples of such as are used with a preceding comma and some(such as this example) are used without a comma. Is there any rule when to use comma with "such as"?

That is an interesting question. There is a difference; check out this link: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_a_comma_ ... such_as%27

However, I can't imagine the GMAT will make that the only distinction between a right and a wrong answer. Once you get the answers narrowed to C and D you can use subject/verb agreement to determine the correct answer, and as you can see that gets you to the correct answer immediately.

[jnelson0612]

You are very welcome!

[daurentur]

Dear Experts,

I'm having an argument with my wife(we are both sudying for GMAT:)) about one particular issue in answer choices D and E:

Could you please assess if the point below is valid or not? And wether this point can be used to eliminate these ACs?

grammatically the prepositional phrase cannot liken "˜recycled commodities’ to the parenthetical information because, "˜commodities’ is an object of the preposition, and hence the comparison will grammatically be made with the subject "the market";

[payal919]

I chose the answer C, for the subject verb agreement and because it uses such as instead of like. However, as I was reviewing my answer, I noticed the explanation provided by OG Guide and baffled by the answer that they said like is acceptable.

OG Guide explanation:

The singular subject market requires the singular verb remains. While there has been some dispute over the use of like to mean "for example," this is an acceptable use.

I took the MGMAT course and i tend to eliminate any answer that uses like to mean "for example".
I am few days away from taking the GMAT exam and this is getting me nervous.

[jnelson0612]

I chose the answer C, for the subject verb agreement and because it uses such as instead of like. However, as I was reviewing my answer, I noticed the explanation provided by OG Guide and baffled by the answer that they said like is acceptable.

OG Guide explanation:

The singular subject market requires the singular verb remains. While there has been some dispute over the use of like to mean "for example," this is an acceptable use.

I took the MGMAT course and i tend to eliminate any answer that uses like to mean "for example".
I am few days away from taking the GMAT exam and this is getting me nervous.

I really would not worry about this. "such as" is definitely preferred when introducing examples, and subject/verb agreement is critical. You have done everything right in choosing C. :-)

[systane.blue]

Hi, I have a doubt in this question.

In option C, we are comparing recycled commodities with aluminum and other metals. However, aluminum and other metals are not recycled commodities but their commodities can be recyclable.

So isn't option E stating the right form?

[shankhamala28]

When I read this question first, I was quite sure that the answer was C.
However, after analyzing further I realised that the answer is E.

The market for recycled commodities like aluminum and other metals remain strong despite economic changes in the recycling industry.
A. commodities like aluminum and other metals remain
B. commodities like those of aluminum and other metals are remaining
C. commodities such as aluminum and other metals remains
D. commodities, such as aluminum and other metals, remain
E. commodities, like the commodities of aluminum and other metals, remains

The correct sentence would be (choice E):
The market for recycled commodities, like the commodities of aluminum and other metals, remains strong despite economic changes in the recycling industry.

I think the use of "Like" here is justified as we are comparing recycled commodities which are similar to the commodities of aluminum and other metals.

In choice (C), we are basically saying recycled commodities such as aluminum and other metals which does not makes sense logically.
Aluminum and other metals cannot be recycled commodities.

[RonPurewal]

the correct sentence here is definitely (c).

also note that this is actually an OG supplement problem (it's #65 in the OG verbal supplement).
however, this thread dates from before the ban on that source (the thread was posted in july 2007; the ban didn't go into effect until october 2007), so we'll leave it up.

However, after analyzing further I realised that the answer is E.

no.

The correct sentence would be (choice E):
The market for recycled commodities, like the commodities of aluminum and other metals, remains strong despite economic changes in the recycling industry.

there are two gigantically huge problems in this answer choice.

1/
this sentence mistakenly says that the market for recycled stuff is "like the commodities of xxxxxx".
that's nonsense; a market is not "like" a bunch of commodities.

2/
the aluminum and other metals are the commodities, so "the commodities of aluminum and other metals" is nonsense.
as an analogy, "the color of my skin" makes sense; "the color of my skin tone" is nonsense (because "skin tone" already refers to a color).

Aluminum and other metals cannot be recycled commodities.

hm? sure they can. aluminum is recycled all the time.

[momo32]

Dear Ron,

Would you specify the usage of like?
Like means similar to xxx.
In this problem, can we say commodity similar to mentals?
Or what kinds of condition can let us use like to express similar to. Would you give me some examples.

Or when we use like.
such as the A like B.
B cannot categorize in A.
we cannot say food like rice.
Its right?

thx

Samy,

Answer choice E can definitely NOT be correct. The first split I notice is "like" v. "such as." On the GMAT, "like" means "similar to," while "such as" introduces examples. In this case, aluminum and other metals are examples of actual metals, so "like" is incorrect. Eliminate A, B, and E. The remaining split concerns verb tense: is "remain" or "remains" correct? In this case, "the market" is the singular subject, so the correct verb is the singular "remains."

The correct answer is C

-dan

The market for recycled commodities like aluminum and other metals remain strong
despite economic changes in the recycling industry.
A. commodities like aluminum and other metals remain
B. commodities like those of aluminum and other metals are remaining
C. commodities such as aluminum and other metals remains
D. commodities, such as aluminum and other metals, remain
E. commodities, like the commodities of aluminum and other metals, remains

Can E be correct ?
Thanks.

[RonPurewal]

In this problem, I don't think "like" makes much sense, since "aluminum and other metals" already encompasses ALL metals. (What else would be "like metals"? Metals are pretty unique. At best, this phrase is VERY ambiguous; at worst, it's meaningless.)

On the other hand, this is a non-issue here (see next post).