When can we omit?

[s.mousavi]

Chapter 4-Question 2:
"Although we were sitting in the bleachers, the baseball game was as exciting to us as to the people sitting behind home plate". Why "to" after "as exciting to us as" remained?

Chapter 4-Question 3:
"Many teachers choose to seek employment in the suburbs rather than face low salaries in the city". Why should we omit "to" in the second part (rather than face low ...)?
Please clarify the differences between these two cases.
Thanks!

[tim]

In the first sentence, omitting the word "to" makes it sound like we are the people sitting behind home plate. Hence we need the "to" in order to make sense of the sentence. If this were not the case, the "to" would be optional..

We see this in the second example. The "to" is optional in front of "face". The decision whether to use it depends on the point at which you break the sentence into two parallel tracks - before or after the word "to". Don't rule out either of these options though, because they can both be correct..

[AZ679]

In the first sentence, omitting the word "to" makes it sound like we are the people sitting behind home plate. Hence we need the "to" in order to make sense of the sentence. If this were not the case, the "to" would be optional..

We see this in the second example. The "to" is optional in front of "face". The decision whether to use it depends on the point at which you break the sentence into two parallel tracks - before or after the word "to". Don't rule out either of these options though, because they can both be correct..

"Although we were sitting in the bleachers, the baseball game was as exciting to us as the people sitting behind home plate"

1. Can this original sentence also, wrongly, suggest that the 'people sitting behind home plate' were as exciting to us as was the game?!

2. To resolve the problem with the original sentence, can we insert 'it was', in addition to 'to', after second 'as'?

Although we were sitting in the bleachers, the baseball game was as exciting to us as it was to the people sitting behind home plate

[tim]

For 1, yes, that is another problem with omitting the "to". For 2, yes, addition of those extra words would be fine as well.