According to a survey of graduating medical students conducted by Asso

While it's not usually worth your time to bother memorizing idioms, you can often reason your way through them by considering the logic of each construction.


Think about the comparison in red: because no verb other than "are" is stated, it sounds as though minority graduates are more likely than other graduates to exist. Well, that's no good. One group might be more likely than another group to do something. But it's odd to say that one group is more likely than another group simply to be.

Moreover, what, on earth are "graduates in planning?" I can imagine graduates in, say, a classroom. But "graduates in planning" is nonsense.

So, yes, the idiom in (A) is wrong, but we can see that by reasoning through it, not because we remember the proper construction from a list.


This has the same meaning problem as (A): it still sounds like the minority graduates are more likely to exist than other graduates. (B) is out too.


Finally, we get a construction that conveys that minority graduates are likely than other graduates to do something, in this case, "to plan on practicing." Keep (C).


No need to worry about idioms here -- this one's a hot mess.

What does "it" refer to? There's no logical antecedent. Also, "rather than" makes no sense. If Tim would rather have bacon than asparagus, he's expressed a (very wise) preference. But no one is claiming that one type of graduate is preferred to another. (D) is out.


Another hot mess. Again, no logical antecedent for "it." Worse, it's impossible to tell what, exactly, is being compared. Four times as likely for minority graduates... to do what? What is "than" doing here without a comparative word such as "more" or "less?" Eliminate (E).

So (C) is our winner, and we didn't have to rely on a single memorized idiom to get there.

I hope that helps!

Hi Kinjal,

Thanks for posting your doubt here.

Option A is incorrect because "likely" is not followed by "to verb". This word is always followed by a "to verb". For example: Kinjal is likely to understand this explanation. However, in this choice what we have is "likely... in planning to practice". This is the incorrect idiom here. Now, the other idiom "more... than..." is fine. But it has been out so cleverly between this "likely" idiom that we only focus on that. There is no problem with "four times more likely" here.

Option B is also incorrect for the same reason. In fact, the "who clause" just provided additional information. The whole planning part now belongs to the "other graduates" and do not even relate to "minority graduates" in the main clause.

Option C is the correct answer as it rectifies the idiom error in Choice A. The choice says "likely... to plan on practicing".

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

First of all, "more likely than" and "as likely as" are bothe correct. But "more likely that" and "as likely for" are unidiomatic. Hence we are left with A B and C

A can be ruled out because the two portions being compared by "more likely than" are not parallel. "Minority graduates" and "are other graduates". Instead it should be "minority graduates" and "other graduates".
Hence we are left with B and C

One rule to keep in mind is that infinitives are preferred when a certain action will occur in future. Hence in this case "to plan" is preferred. Also, option B compares "minority graduates" with "other graduates who plan on practicing" which is not correct.

Hence option C is the correct ans.

Hi Dhairya

According to GMAC and MGMAT, both idioms "plan on Verb-ing" and "plan to Verb" are correct.

According to a survey of graduating medical students conducted by the Association of American Medical College, minority graduates are nearly four times more likely than are other graduates in planning to practice in socioeconomically deprived areas.

1. minority graduates are nearly four times more likely than are other graduates in planning to practice
Wrong. four time + more than ==> wrong in GMAT (see MGMAT Sentence correction, page 260)

2. minority graduates are nearly four times more likely than other graduates who plan on practicing
Wrong. four time + more than ==> wrong in GMAT

3. minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to plan on practicing
Correct.
- Four time + AS .... AS ==> correct comparison usage.
- Plan on VERB-ing ==> correct idiom.

4. it is nearly four times more likely that minority graduates rather than other graduates will plan to practice
Wrong. four time + more rather than ==> wrong in GMAT; In addition future tense "will" is not necessary.

5. it is nearly four times as likely for minority graduates than other graduates to plan to pratice
Wrong. As + than ==> wrong grammar.

Hope it's clear.

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to plan on practicing in socioeconomically deprived areas.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Comparison + Verb Forms + Idioms

• The infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb") is preferred over the present participle ("verb+ing") to refer to the purpose/intent of an action.
• Comparison must always be made between similar elements.
• “as A as B” is a correct, idiomatic construction.

A: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "than are other graduates in planning"; the construction of this phrase incoherently implies that minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to exist in that they plan to practice in socioeconomically deprived areas; the intended meaning is that minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to plan on practicing in socioeconomically deprived areas. Further, Option A uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "planning" in this sentence) to refer to the intent of the action "are...more likely"; please remember, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb") is preferred over the present participle ("verb+ing" - "planning" in this sentence) to refer to the purpose/intent of an action.

B: This answer choice incorrectly compares the verb phrase "minority graduates are" to the noun phrase "other graduates who plan on...areas", leading to the illogical meaning that minority graduates are nearly four times as likely to exist as other graduates who plan on practicing in socioeconomically deprived areas; the intended meaning is that minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to plan on practicing in socioeconomically deprived areas; please remember, a comparison must always be made between similar elements.

C: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "as likely as other graduates to plan", correctly comparing the verb phrase "minority graduates are" and "other graduates (are)", and thus conveying the intended meaning - that minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to plan on practicing in socioeconomically deprived areas. Further, Option C correctly uses the idiomatic construction "as A as B". Moreover, Option C uses the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + plan" in this sentence) to refer to the intent of the action "are nearly four times as likely". Besides, Option C is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "more likely...rather than other graduates"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to plan on practicing in socioeconomically deprived areas. Further, Option D uses the passive voice construction "it is nearly four times more likely", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

E: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "as A than B"; please remember, "as A as B" is the correct, idiomatic construction. Further, Option E uses the passive voice construction "it is nearly four times more likely", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Tommy

Can I can infer that "X as likely as Y" ---> is comparing two nouns?

thanks

Hey Nusma,

Well, technically, it would be "X is Y times as likely as Z to do something". That's the full on comparison construction. But yes, the two things have to be nouns, because the verb comes after the Z (to do something).

-t

Tommy,

Can u plz explain how (or if) 'more likely' can be used? Not just in this example, but in general.
e.g., is it right to say, "X is more likely to succeed than Y"?

Okay. Lots of questions.

Werewolf: I think I overemphasized this issue. A and B have tons of other problems, and it may be legit to say "four times more likely." However, D is definitely wrong, because it can't be four times more likely with nothing to compare to grammatically.

I also want to address Ramana's issue, which was also sent to be privately by another student. The preferred form is "plan to VERB." I don't know for certain is the correct answer choice here would be correct on the GMAT. Just know the preferred form, and that this form is also possible. I doubt you'll ever be asked to make a direct choice between the two, with no other issues to look at.

-t

I've done some searching, and I do think "as likely as" is definitely preferred, to the extent that it's legit to remove A and B for that reason. Phew!

-t

correct idiom usage:

more ....than (more....rather than =>wrong)... (more.....as=>wrong)
....likely....to (...likely ....in =>this is wrong)
as .....as (as.....than=>wrong)

1. minority graduates are nearly four times more likely than are other graduates in planning to practice
WRONG.
likely ...IN ==>incorrect usage.

2. minority graduates are nearly four times more likely than other graduates who plan on practicing
WRONG.
who plan on practicing is a modifier ,so sentence should make sense after removing this,but on removing it is not clear four times more likely what??

3. minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to plan on practicing
CORRECT.

4. it is nearly four times more likely that minority graduates rather than other graduates will plan to practice
WRONG.
MORE..RATHER THAN =.incorrect.

5. it is nearly four times as likely for minority graduates than other graduates to plan to pratice
WRONG.
AS.....THAN =>incorrect usage.


plan -to ....and ......plan - on ==>both are correct usage.

hope it helps

According to a survey of graduating medical students conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges, minority graduates are nearly four times more likely than are other graduates in planning to practice in socioeconomically deprived areas.

(A) minority graduates are nearly four times more likely than are other graduates in planning to practice
(B) minority graduates are nearly four times more likely than other graduates who plan on practicing
(C) minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as other graduates to plan on practicing
(D) it is nearly four times more likely that minority graduates rather than other graduates will plan to practice
(E) it is nearly four times as likely for minority graduates than other graduates to plan to practice

According to a survey of graduating medical students conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges,

minority graduates are nearly four times more likely than are other graduates in planning to practice in socioeconomically deprived areas.

Meaning : According to a survey, MG are nearly four times more likely than OG to plan on practicing Z

Option D) “rather” doesn’t make sense. - Eliminated

Option E) “to plan to practice” there are two intents in the same sentence, making the sentence awkward – Eliminated.

I am confused for Option A/B/C.

One of the rule I follow is more should have “than”. Both A and B satisfy that rule. e-gmat, can you please point out the mistake?

Hi Shraddha,

Can you please explain the role of underlined portion below in answer choice A? Also, this underlined portion isn't present in B, does that set the comparison correctly(provided the error with who is fixed in 2nd choice)?

minority graduates are nearly four times more likely than are other graduates in planning to practice

Thanks in advance

Hi sk5002,

In both Choice A and B, the comparison is logical and absolutely unambiguous. Presence or absence of "are" does not affect the comparison because there is nothing else in the sentences with which "minority graduates" can be compared. the only logical entity in the sentence that can be compared to "minority graduates" is "other graduates". Hence, presence or absence of "are" does not lead to any ambiguity and hence, its presence or absence is OPTIONAL but NOT INCORRECT.

For example:

Ronny is a better bowler than Roy (is). --> In this sentence, we may or may not choose to repeat the helping Verb "is" because the comparison is absolutely clear. he two compared entities in this sentence are "Ronny" and "Roy". When a sentence presents CLEAR COMPARISON, repeating the helping Verb becomes OPTIONAL as we see in this official sentence.

Repeating the helping Verb becomes mandatory when the sentence conveys AMBIGUOUS COMPARISON. For example:

Ronny is familiar with Roy longer than Ria.

This sentence presents AMBIGUOUS COMPARISON because we can interpret two comparisons here:

1. Ronny is familiar with Roy longer than is Ria. --> Entities Compared - Ronny and Ria

2. Ronny is familiar with Roy longer than with Ria. --> Entities Compared - Roy and Ria

So, if the author intends to communicate the first meaning, then he MUST repeat the helping Verb "is". In absence of this helping verb, the sentence leads to ambiguous comparison. You can also read this article on Ellipses in Comparison for more clarity on this topic: how-far-ellipsis-is-permissible-in-comparison-148973.html

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
SJ

Dear experts, mikemcgarry, MagooshExpert Carolyn,sayantanc2k, GMATNinjaTwo, GMATNinja
Anyone can help point out the error of answer choice D?
Honestly, I picked up D
But I have no idea what's wrong with it?

Here is an example,
It is more likely that he will get the job.
I think this example is correct.

D works similary, but D is more complex, the subject of that clause is a comparison -- minority graduates rather than other gradutes.

I didnot pick up D because plan on,

Genuienly need your help.

Have a nice day

>_~

Hi zoezhuyan!

The most obvious error in D) is "four times more likely that". When we are saying that something is a certain number of times as likely as something else, we need to use "as", not "more". If we use "more", then "four times more likely" actually means 5 times the probability (this has been explained by others above). Here, the intended meaning is four times the probability, which means we need to say "four times as likely". We can definitely say something like:

It is more likely that he will get the job.

But we CANNOT say:

It is ten times more likely that he will get the job.

When we're talking about numbers in regards to probabilities like this, we need to be more careful about our wording.

I hope that helps!
-Carolyn

Hi MagooshExpert Carolyn
Thanks so much for your explanation.

I thought the original sentence intends to mean 5 times , so I though it is ok that " it is nearly four times more likely that..."


But how should I catch that the original meaning is "4 times likely", rather than "5 times" or "4 times... more..." ?

Please

Thanks in advance

Have a nice day
>_~