An inventory equal to 90 days sales is as much as even the strongest

Question

An inventory equal to 90 days sales is  as much as even  the strongest businesses carry, and then only as a way to anticipate higher prices or ensure against shortages.

(A) as much as even
(B) so much as even
(C) even so much as
(D) even as much that
(E) even so much that

daagh · Accepted Answer

(A) As much as even -  'as much as' is correct idiom; the right choice  
(B) so much as even -  ‘so much as’.  So much as  is usable in negative expressions 
(C) even so much as -  same as  B; The word  even  is misplaced 
(D) even as much that -  as much that –wrong idiom ‘ any comparison started with as should be ended with as in comparisons;  even  is is misplaced   
(E) even so much that -  so much that - wrong idiom in this context. So much should be completed with as in comparisons;  even  is misplaced

daagh · Answer

@Shoumik

The meaning of the sentence is: Even the best companies carry a minimum quantity of merchandise goods that will last for 90 days’ sales, based on average sales in the past, in order to gain from any wind-fall price increases or for meeting any product shortages. Less efficient companies may be required to hold even more stocks at any given time. If any company holds lower stocks, it may not benefit from unexpected price gains or may suffer from product shortages

skpMatcha · Answer

I go with 'A'.

as much as <Idiomatic Expression >

My take : Even the strongest business can hold an inventory upto 90 days sale worth of inventory.By doing so they can ensure shortages and anticipate higher prices..
it is describing an industry standard of how much a strongest business can/will hold.

ugimba · Answer

sorry I myself understand the whole meaning of the sentence ... but I am picking my answer choice :-D

'so much as ' is wrong idiom. it has to be 'not so much as' --> eliminates B and C. ' as much that' and 'so much that' are wrong idioms so D and E are gone. A wins.

joshofnsit · Answer

I think 'so much as' is correct idiom. Can someone confirm this? https://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic12427.html Still feel B as a strong contender after my searches. Please pour in your logic

sudeep · Answer

The examples given in the link are using 'not so much as'.

The correct idiom is 'as much as'
Negated form of 'as much as' is 'not so much as'

'so much as' without 'not' is not an idiom.

thevenus · Answer

Very tricky ,

An inventory equal to 90 days sales is  as much   as even the strongest businesses carry ,  and  then only  as a way to anticipate higher prices or ensure against shortages. 
 
(i)as much is referring =(equal to)
(ii) and is joining two segments which should be parallel.

(A) Wins

frankiegar · Answer

I think "so much as" in option B should not be evaulated as an idiom. Thats
not the point in question.

Sentence should be evaluated in two parts;

- in the first part; " 90 days sales is so much " higlights the excess
turnover days of inventory.

- in the second part; as is used for comparison; comparison with " even the
strongest business carry "

Introducing "can" between business and carry might fix option B as correct choice.
Since "can" is not present, A stands the best.

gmatter0913 · Answer

Sometimes it helps me to rephrase the sentence in a reverse order. I used this trick for this question.

"Even the strongest businesses carry as much inventory as equal to 90 day sales"

'as much as ' is the right comparison here.

I think 'so much ..as..' will have to be followed by an adverbial clause.

as much .. as ..can be followed by <noun/noun phrase> ('as' is acting as a preposition)

LeoGT · Answer

Hi Gmatclub experts, i tried many times but cannot understand the meaning of this question. please help me. thanks a lot.

sayantanc2k · Answer

Ignore the second part "and then only as a way to anticipate higher prices or ensure against shortages." - it is a grammatical disaster.

sayantanc2k · Answer

"NOT so much... as" is correct. ( in a negative sentence). Both the above usages are alright.
I am not so much eager as you think I am.
I am eager, but not so much as you think I am.

"As much...as" is used in a positive sentence.
I am as much eager as you think I am.
I am eager, as much as you think I am.

teaserbae · Answer

daagh   sayantanc2k  why even should preceed the strongest businesses ?

AjiteshArun · Answer

Because the sentence wants to  emphasize  the word  strongest .

Flip the sentence and read it like this:
 Even the strongest businesses do not carry an inventory of more than 90 days sales.  -> This means that no business carries an inventory of more than 90 days sales.

If we dropped the  even , the sentence would no longer be as inclusive as before:
 The strongest businesses do not carry an inventory of more than 90 days sales.  -> This makes it sound as if something else is possibly applicable to businesses other than the strongest businesses.

shabuzen102 · Answer

Can someone please kindly explain the second part of this sentence? If we write it out, it'd look like this..?

"An inventory equal to 90 days sales is as much as even the strongest businesses carry, and an inventory equal to 90 days sales is then only as a way to anticipate higher prices or ensure against shortages."

OR

"An inventory equal to 90 days sales is as much as even the strongest businesses carry, and an inventory equal to 90 days sales is then only *as much* as a way to anticipate higher prices or ensure against shortages."

Thanks!

TheGuyDangerous · Answer

Even I was confused b/w option A & B. But this helped me out: https://gmatclub.com/forum/so-much-as-v ... 22887.html Good question to help clear things out!

Nums99 · Answer

Hi  VeritasKarishma  ,  GMATNinja ,

Could you help me with when we use 'so much as' and when we use 'as much as'. The idiom that made all the difference between option A and B in this question.

KarishmaB · Answer

"so much as" is used in place of "even". 
I didn't so much as say a word to her. (means "I didn't even say one word to her")
The intent is to say "not even this much".

"As much as" is used to compare and shows comparable amounts. 
He agrees with me as much as he agrees with my father.

In the original sentence, the intent is to say that even the strongest businesses do not carry inventory more than 90 days sales. 90 days sales is as much as they will carry.

Tanchat · Answer

Hello  AndrewN  ,

Could you please explain why E is wrong?
so... that is correct idiom. I guess that it would be because of meaning. But I don't know why (E) makes meaning doesn't make sense.

Thanks

An inventory equal to 90 days sales is as much as even the strongest

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

An inventory equal to 90 days sales is as much as even the strongest

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards