LucyDang wrote:
Climatic shifts are so gradual as to be indistinguishable at first from ordinary fluctuations in the weather.
(A) so gradual as to be indistinguishable
(B) so gradual they can be indistinguishable
(C) so gradual that they are unable to be distinguished
(D) gradual enough not to be distinguishable
(E) gradual enough so that one cannot distinguish them
Questions:
1. Which option is correct?
2. What's the difference among A, D and E?
Dear Lucy,
I'm happy to help.
You may find this blog helpful.
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/gmat-idiom ... nsequence/The correct idioms include
"
so gradual as to ..."
"
so gradual that ..."
"
such [a noun] that ..."
Here ----
(A) correct, and a particularly elegant phrasing
(B) the word "
that" is missing, so this is, in GMAT-terms, unacceptable
(C) grammatically correct, but awkward, wordy, and indirect; rewording to introduce the passive voice is not desirable
(D) not a correct idiom --- we need one of the idioms of consequence listed above ----
(E) grammatically correct, but awkward, wordy, and indirect; no reason to rephrase to introduce the indefinite pronoun "
one"
Technically,
(A) &
(E) are both grammatically and idiomatically correct, and both say the same thing --- it's just that
(A) says it far more elegantly, whereas
(E) is roundabout and awkwardly wordy. Choice
(D) would pass in American colloquial English, but it's not formal enough for GMAT standards --- it doesn't follow one of the formally recommended idioms for this situation.
Does all this make sense?
Mike