What is the correct use of "as with"?

[Cartera]

Hello

What is the correct use of "as with"? In GMAT, I frequentely encounter this expression but it is always incorrect. So, I dont know whether the mistake is in its use of the expression itself is wrong.

thanks

Turtles, as with other reptiles, can endure long fasts because they can survive on weekly or even monthly feedings; however, when food is readily available, they may eat frequently and grow very fat.

(A) as with other reptiles ---> what is wrong with "as with" here?
(B) as other reptiles are able to
(C) as other reptiles do
(D) like other reptiles
(E) like other reptiles are able to do

[Alan]

Hi Cartera,

'As with' has a much broader meaning than would be required in that sentence and suggests 'as in the case of' but here you need a straight comparison such as: as do other reptiles/as can other reptiles.

Alan
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[Cerberus™]

Yes, but "like other reptiles" seem fine here, too.

"As with" may stand for "as is the case with"/"as in case of", or for an echo of part of a main sentence which uses "with".
It is used in:
- Comparing with something else that also has "with".
- Comparing when, for some reason, you cannot repeat the construction of the sentence you want to echo..

Examples:
- "The problem with France was, as with many other European countries, that the government spent too much on pomp and grandeur."
- "The earth is enormous. The problem is, as with all planets, that gravity makes a launch into orbit very energy expensive."
Here, "with it" is left out as in "the problem with it is": this implicit "with" is echoed in "as with all".
- "There are many ways to tease women, especially if they don't know they are being teased, as with men, who are notoriously oblivious of being teased."
Here, you could say "there are" is left out as in "as there are possibilities with men". To echo the construction of the main clause you'd need to say "as men" (as the object of "tease"), which is unclear; or "as there are ways to tease men", which is quite long. That is why I changed the construction and used "with". Note that this is perhaps not a very good example as the sentence is somewhat ugly. Try to avoid, whenever you can, (a.) long sentences and (b.) changing constructions.