Like other performance indicators, the growth rate of a start-up business is generally related to the amount of time and resources dedicated to the endeavor.
A: Like other performance indicators, the growth rate of a start-up business is generally related to the amount of time and
B: Just like other performance indicators, the growth rate of a start-up business is generally related to the amount of time and
C: Like other performance indicators are, the growth rate of a start-up business is generally related to the amount of time and number of
D: As other performance indicators are, the growth rate of a start-up business is generally related to the amount of time and
E: As other performance indicators are, the growth rate of a start-up business is generally related to the amount of time and number of

Correct answer for this question is E.
It is mentioned in the explanation that resources is a countable noun, and so 'number of' should be used instead of 'amount of'. I thought 'resources' can be countable as well as uncountable. And when I did a search in Google for 'amount of resources', I see that it is being used very commonly as I expected. So how can I know that 'resources' here is countable and not uncountable?

Thank you
Vizay

The best test for whether a noun is countable:

one resource
two resources
three resources

Does this make sense? Yes. So it's countable.

Contrast this with time:
one time
two times
three times

This doesn't make sense - not when we want to use the word time in the sense that it's being used in this sentence. (That is, I'm not trying to say "I went swimming two times." I'm trying to say "the amount of time spent...")

Also, just because you find something all over the Internet does not mean it's grammatically correct. I can tell you ten major grammar errors that show up everywhere online and that you hear people say every single day!

_________________
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT

stacey you are too good.what an explanation!thanks.

Hi Stacey,

Would choice C be correct if we remove "ARE"

C: Like other performance indicators, the growth rate of a start-up business is generally related to the amount of time and number of


Please explain..

Thanks in advance
Anon

that would be correct, because 'like' would then be attached to a NOUN (performance indicators), rather than to a CLAUSE as it is in the incorrect answer choice (c).

this version is arguably better than the correct answer choice (e) - after all, it's more concise, and, in my opinion, more natural - but remember that the game is to choose the correct answer, not to conjure the hypothetical perfect answer.

The explanation to this question says that 'as' is being used to compare two verb phrases -- as other .. are, growth rate is.. '. Although my grammatical intuition says this is ok, I just wanted to make sure 'as' can be used to compare verb phrases in addition to clauses.

those are clauses (they have their own subjects and verbs).

Can someone tell me why its E and not C?
Can't we use "Like other performance indicators are"? why not?

I think I got it...
'Like' is used to comare two Nouns and 'As' is used to compare two clauses

always ncie to see a forum poster answer their own question - shows good critical thinking : )
you guys make me proud.

One question:

"Amount of" can only modify UNCOUNTABLE names?

Then an amount of dollars is wrong, for example....

yep - you'd have a number of dollars and an amount of money. :)

_________________
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT

Hi,
I'd just like to ask whether the following phrases are correct :

abundant resources
lot of resources

Even i selected A) since i never realized that resource should be treated as countable..

yes. you can actually use "abundant" in front of things that are either countable or uncountable.

"a lot of" (used to mean a large number or amount) is too colloquial to be correct in formal written english. that's strictly spoken language.
of course, if you have a problem that uses "a lot" in a literal sense (i.e., the machine produces a lot of items - as in "one production lot"), then it's fine. but not just in the sense of a large quantity.

just one question :: when do we use JUST LIKE and LIKE ?