Like vs As

[kameshsubramanian]

Because of less availability and greater demand for scientific research, platinum remains consistently expensive, like gold.

(a) Because of less availability and greater demand for scientific research, platinum remains consistently expensive, like gold.

(b) Because of less availability and increased demand for scientific research, platinum remains consistently expensive, like that of gold.

(c) Because of decreased availability and increased demand in scientific research, platinum remains expensive, like gold.

(d) Because of decreased availability and increased demand for scientific research, platinum remains expensive, like gold.

(e) Because of decreased availability and greater demand in scientific research, platinum remains at a consistently high price, like that of gold.

(C) CORRECT. This choice replaces "less availability" with "decreased availability" and "greater demand" with "increased demand." The word "consistently" is removed, and "demand for" is changed to "demand in."

(1) Wont "platinum, like gold" be better than "platinum remains expensive, like gold"
(2) Also cant we state that "platinum remains expensive as gold does"

[dmitryknowsbest]

I would prefer to see "like gold" follow "platinum," as in your first choice. However, our ideal sentence often fails to appear. The word "like" does not have to touch the two nouns it compares, even if it might sound better that way.

Your second option would also work, provided you placed a comma between "expensive" and "as." However, we would have to watch that the meaning was clear in such a construction. We would be getting very close to saying "Platinum remains as expensive as gold does," which has a different meaning. (Rather than saying that the two metals are both expensive, we are saying that they are equally expensive.) Ideally, we would move the verb: "Platinum remains expensive, as does gold." In any case, this option does not appear, so we must make do with the choice that contains no errors.

[ivy]

I would prefer to see "like gold" follow "platinum," as in your first choice. However, our ideal sentence often fails to appear. The word "like" does not have to touch the two nouns it compares, even if it might sound better that way.

Your second option would also work, provided you placed a comma between "expensive" and "as." However, we would have to watch that the meaning was clear in such a construction. We would be getting very close to saying "Platinum remains as expensive as gold does," which has a different meaning. (Rather than saying that the two metals are both expensive, we are saying that they are equally expensive.) Ideally, we would move the verb: "Platinum remains expensive, as does gold." In any case, this option does not appear, so we must make do with the choice that contains no errors.

Hiya,

1. Platinum remains expensive, as gold does.

2. Platinum remains expensive, as does gold.

3. Platinum remains as expensive as gold does.

The meaning of statement 1 and statement 2 is totally same. Statement 3 says that the cost of platinum remains same as that of gold and that both metals remain expensive, while statement 1 and statement 2 say that platinum and gold are expensive in same way.

Am I right?

Thanks a lot! :)

[tim]

Yes, except you should not end 3 with "does". When using "as [adjective] as", you are comparing two nouns, not two clauses. In 3, you should leave off the "does", so that platinum and gold can be compared directly..