HarshaBujji wrote:
sudarshan22 wrote:
Child prodigies are marked not so much by their skills but instead by the fact that these skills are fully developed at a very early age.
(A) but instead
(B) rather than
(C) than
(D) as
(E) so much as
Hi
GMATNinjaTwoThis may be a silly doubt, but I'm confused with the meaning of this sentence.
IMO D, Because I thought that the highlighted portion is the reason for not marking child prodigies by their skills. (AS playing the role of reasoning)
I'm not able to see any parallelism here.
Also, Can you please explain the usage of the idiom "not so much X as Y"?
Thanks in advace
HarshaBujji, I'm no expert but see if this helps.
Not so much X as Y - This basically means Y is a much, much bigger factor than X or that Y is a much bigger contributor to the issue at hand than X.
The meaning of the sentence is on similar lines. The sentence is trying to explain how child prodigies are marked and says that Y (the fact that these skills are fully developed at a very early age) is a much bigger factor than X (their skills). The sentence is essentially saying it is not the mere presence of the skills, but rather the development of the skills that makes a child a
prodigy.