According to a 1996 study published in the Journal of Human

[Luci]

I got it right but I was not sure about it. I had doubts between A and B. It is not easy english for a non native.





The construction is "As likely As". Does it has to have a noun after it, a verb is not possible?

Thanks.

Luci

[GMAT 2007]

Luci,

My 2 cents - In the sentence construction, 'Americans of Middle Eastern descent' are at one side of 'as likely as'. It signals the comparision between the Americans of Middle Eastern descent with the average American. (B) is the only choice when the comparision is made correctly.

GMAT 2007

[dbernst]

GMAT 2007, that is correct. Answer choice A incorrectly indicates that the nation average itself is less likely to be self employed.

-dan

[Guest]

I was torn between B and D.

I knew that when ever I see one as it has to be followed by another as.

I also knew that the idiom is likely to be.

I went with D after over analyzing the Q

I dont see as likely as in the idiom list of MGMAT. Is as likely as a correct idiom. Google brought a couple of hits but nothing concrete.

[morningdew123]

Q According to a 1996 study published in the Journal of Human Resources, Americans of Middle Eastern descent were twice as likely
C) as the average American to be self-employed

OA is c...but are we not comparing Americans (plural) with American (singular)

[RonPurewal]

Q According to a 1996 study published in the Journal of Human Resources, Americans of Middle Eastern descent were twice as likely
C) as the average American to be self-employed

OA is c...but are we not comparing Americans (plural) with American (singular)

do you have different answer choices? that's the choice that's labeled (b) in the current problem (in the graphic in the original post).

this is a legitimate comparison; "the average american" (along with "the average X" in general) is very commonly used in the singular, especially when referring to a statistical average.
in other words, when you referring to a hypothetical person who is perfectly average in terms of some statistical trait, you write "THE average (whatever kind of person)".
the plural form -- "average americans" -- is generally not used to refer to statistical averages, but rather used to refer to the middle class (i.e., "average people").

as far as making a comparison between multiple people and one person, that's also perfectly legitimate, as long as it makes sense from a statistical standpoint.
e.g., about 40% of americans are taller than my cousin --> makes perfect sense; my cousin has some specific height that is less than the height of 40% of americans.

[RonPurewal]

I was torn between B and D.

I knew that when ever I see one as it has to be followed by another as.

I also knew that the idiom is likely to be.

I went with D after over analyzing the Q

I dont see as likely as in the idiom list of MGMAT. Is as likely as a correct idiom. Google brought a couple of hits but nothing concrete.

"as ADJECTIVE as..."
and
"as ADVERB as..."
are extremely common expressions to indicate equality in some measure (or inequality, if some multiple or percentage is in front of the construction). e.g.
i am exactly as tall as my brother.
my suitcase is twice as large as my wife's.

since this construction is universally the same for any possible adjective or adverb (excluding adjectives and adverbs for which such comparisons just don't make any sense), you're not going to see it listed for specific adjectives such as "likely".

[bruno.shinjo]

Hi! Is the term "average american" better than "national average"?

Thanks!

Q According to a 1996 study published in the Journal of Human Resources, Americans of Middle Eastern descent were twice as likely
C) as the average American to be self-employed

OA is c...but are we not comparing Americans (plural) with American (singular)

do you have different answer choices? that's the choice that's labeled (b) in the current problem (in the graphic in the original post).

this is a legitimate comparison; "the average american" (along with "the average X" in general) is very commonly used in the singular, especially when referring to a statistical average.
in other words, when you referring to a hypothetical person who is perfectly average in terms of some statistical trait, you write "THE average (whatever kind of person)".
the plural form -- "average americans" -- is generally not used to refer to statistical averages, but rather used to refer to the middle class (i.e., "average people").

as far as making a comparison between multiple people and one person, that's also perfectly legitimate, as long as it makes sense from a statistical standpoint.
e.g., about 40% of americans are taller than my cousin --> makes perfect sense; my cousin has some specific height that is less than the height of 40% of americans.

[tim]

It depends on the context. Neither of these terms is inherently better or worse than the other.

[thanghnvn]

According to a 1996 study published in the Journal of Human Resources, Americans of Middle Eastern descent were twice as likely as was the national average to be self-employed.

* as was the national average to be self-employed
* as the average American to be self-employed
* as the national average that they would be self0employed
* to be self-employed than was the average American.
* that they would be self-employed than was the national average.

C is wrong because
it is likely that-clause (it is fake subject)
is idiom
and
subject is likely to do
is idiom

we do not have "subject is likely that-clause" in english

is that right?

[tim]

That is correct.

[HM537]

what's wrong with choice A? is there any difference between "the national average" and "the average american" ?

[RonPurewal]

what's wrong with choice A? is there any difference between "the national average" and "the average american" ?

'the national average' would be exactly what it says: an average.
i.e., some kind of statistic.

'the national average' is not a person, so that option is nonsense.

[KathyL227]

what's wrong with choice A? is there any difference between "the national average" and "the average american" ?

'the national average' would be exactly what it says: an average.
i.e., some kind of statistic.

'the national average' is not a person, so that option is nonsense.

Ron,
But the sentence is comparing "Americans of Middle Eastern descent" and "the average American", the former subjects goes with plural form verb "were", but the latter should go with singular verb "was". Therefore, the latter "was" can not be omitted, is it?

Thanks.

[RonPurewal]

nah, you don't need another verb there. (i can write "I am older than you", even though the verb "am" doesn't apply to "you".)