comparision and parallelism

[gauravtyagigmat]

Hi Ron,

many times in gmat question we see idioms which are used for comparison and for maintaining parallelism
But usually i find it difficult to find out what is being compared and paralleled. when same idoms follow different formats

x blah blah rather than blah y blah

x more than y

x1 more x2 x3 x 4x than x5xxxx x6

rather x blah blah than y blah

x as much as y

as much x , as y

such as x, y

blah blah such x blah blah as y

We have three times as many pears as you

1. we have at least as many apples as you

2. He wins frequently, as much because he plays so hard as because he cheats
(I generally observe in GMat questions that "so" is generally used with "so..that" but here it comes in between )

3. His knowledge springs as much from experience as from schooling

lot of times many things are written in between a particular format,making it difficult to realize what is being compared or paralleled

question 1.
According to public health officials, in 1998 Massachusetts became the first state in which more
babies were born to women over the age of thirty than under it.
A. than
B. than born
C. than they were
D. than there had been
E. than had been born

question 2.
Today’s technology allows manufacturers to make small cars more fuel-efficient now than at any time in their production history.
A. small cars more fuel-efficient now than at any time in their
B. small cars that are more fuel-efficient than they were at any time in their
C. small cars that are more fuel-efficient than those at any other time in
D. more fuel-efficient small cars than those at any other time in their
E. more fuel-efficient small cars now than at any time in
Question 3.
Dirt roads may evoke the bucolic simplicity of another century, but financially strained townships point out that dirt roads cost twice as much as maintaining paved roads.
(A) dirt roads cost twice as much as maintaining paved roads
(B) dirt roads cost twice as much to maintain as paved roads do
(C) maintaining dirt roads costs twice as much as paved roads do
(D) maintaining dirt roads costs twice as much as it does for paved roads
(E) to maintain dirt roads costs twice as much as for paved roads

I am quoting above questions not in specific but in general to explain the issue I face while solving such questions.
How do i quickly catch what is being compared?

thanks,
Gaurav

[RonPurewal]

How do i quickly catch what is being compared?

It's basically common sense.
Even if the construction of the sentence is horribly incorrect, it should still be quite clear what is meant to be compared.

Remember, when you first read the prompt sentence, you should ONLY be thinking, "What does this mean? What are they saying?" You should NOT be analyzing grammar at that point. (Leave that for the answer choices, when you'll actually know which parts of the sentence are under scrutiny.)

It should be immediately clear which things are being compared to which other things. If it isn't, then you are almost certainly thinking too much about mechanics, and not nearly enough about what the sentence is supposed to say.

[RonPurewal]

By the way, this is the wrong folder for this question. If you have more general discussion like this, please post it in the General Verbal folder, which is the correct place for ... general verbal discussions.

Thanks.