An array of tax incentives has led to a boom in the construction of ne

Question

An array of tax incentives has led to a boom in the construction of new office buildings;  so abundant has capital been for commercial real estate that  investors regularly scour the country for areas in which to build.

(A) so abundant has capital been for commercial real estate that

(B) capital has been so abundant for commercial real estate, so that

(C) the abundance of capital for commercial real estate has been such,

(D) such has the abundance of capital been for commercial real estate that

(E) such has been an abundance of capital for commercial real estate,

mikemcgarry · Accepted Answer

Dear anurag16 , I'm happy to respond.

The short answer to your question is that the word " so " has more than one use. One use of " so " is as a subordinate conjunction. For example: The student walked in late, so the teacher yelled at him . Notice that this sentence has only one independent clause. independent clause = the student walked in late subordinate clause = so the teacher yelled at him Notice that in any subordinate clause that begins with a subordinate conjunction, it is true 100% of the time that if we were to remove the subordinate conjunction, what follows could function as an independent clause. Nevertheless, as long as that subordinate conjunction is there, we are not allowed to count it as an independent clause. See: GMAT Grammar: “On a White Bus” with Subordinate Conjunctions In this SC problem, we are NOT using " so " as a subordinate conjunction. A completely different use of " so " is as an intensifier for an adjective, in the structure: so that . . . The Antarctic winter is so cold that frostbite occurs almost instantaneously. Notice, it would be 100% correct and even quite sophisticated to change the word order: So cold is the Antarctic winter that frostbite occurs almost instantaneously . The word " so " has to come immediately before the adjective it intensifies, but there's no rule that the word " that " has to come right after. In fact, this latter wording is typical of very high quality writing because rhetorically it emphasizes both the adjective and the logical tension in the sentence. We hear " So cold is the . . . " and it immediately creates the question in the reader " how cold is it ?" The sentence creates that tension and satisfies it only in the second half: this is a brilliant rhetorical device that elicits the reader's curiosity and draws the reader to read the entire sentence with that much more interest and attention. It is a particular example of the way in which a skilled writer might hook a reader's attention and drive that attention through the length of the piece. This is precisely the rhetorical device that appears in (A), the OA. . . . so abundant has capital been for commercial real estate that investors regularly scour the country for areas in which to build . This is an independent clause. Perhaps this would be more clear if we were to change the word order to a more prosaic, pedestrian, and un-dramatic version, the "white bread only" phrasing of the information: . . . capital for commercial real estate has been so abundant that investors regularly scour the country for areas in which to build . This latter version makes the grammatical structure clearer to folks struggling to see this structure, but ultimately, that is not how language is used in the real world. In the real world, the artful use of language involves using all the elements of language together to communicate one's meaning most powerfully, and this is what version (A) does well. Of course, what is so brilliant about using this sophisticated rhetorical construction after a semicolon is that all the students who mistake this for the subordinate conjunction use of " so " will think it's wrong! Among other things, it's a brilliant test about the difference between two very different uses of " so "! Official questions are always so brilliantly designed! As someone who writes questions professionally, I am continually in awe of the quality of the official questions! Does all this make sense? Mike

generis · Answer

rnn , no, the idiom is not the only problem (but that idiom is a good one to know). Option D uses such as an intensifier ("good pastries are such a delight") or a determiner referring to degree (hard to tell), but . . . such does not intensify anything. Such is left hanging. This construction in (D) is hard: An array of tax incentives has led to a boom in the construction of new office buildings; such has the abundance of capital been for commercial real estate that investors regularly scour the country for areas in which to build. Try rewriting the "such" part. . . . the abundance of capital for commercial real estate has been such that . . . investors regularly scour the country for areas in which to build.. Such what ? Or such a WHAT ? A noun or noun phrase is missing. Example: . . . the abundance of capital for commercial real estate has been such a reliable fact that investors regularly scour the country for areas in which to build.. I just suggested the sort of thing that needs to go between such and that , but I struggled to find sensible words. The phrasing in the rewrite is horrible, especially compared to that in option A. We can rewrite A, too: . . . capital for commercial real estate has been so abundant that Again, compare (rewritten and not embellished) D: the abundance of capital for commercial real estate has been such that

We're trying to stress the abundance of capital. "So abundant," as in A, means "very abundant." That phrase is clear. "The abundance has been such" is not clear. The clause doesn't mean anything. It's babble. I hope that analysis helps.

tnguyen707 · Answer

I pick A

The origininal sentence can be re-constructed as:

"An array of tax incentives has led to a boom in the construction of new office buildings; capital for commercial real estate has been so abundant that investors regularly scour the country for areas in which to build" 

I think A is the best choice

B. so ..., so that makes the sentence fragmented 
C. it's wordy. the comma after such makes the sentence fragmented
D. it's wordy 
E. run-on sentence

bulls · Answer

The OA is 'A'... unable to grasp the reasoning behind it...

tnguyen707 · Answer

In a normal written English, the sentence should have been (as I quoted earlier) like this: "An array of tax incentives has led to a boom in the construction of new office buildings; the capital for commercial real estate has been so abundant that investors regularly scour the country for areas in which to build."

However, GMAT altered the perfectly fine sentence to something appearing to be incorrect but is actually gramatically correct.

For example, one can say,"I would go home" or "Home I would go" are two perfectly correct sentences that has the same meaning.

bigoyal · Answer

My answer is A. The option is using correct idiom "so...that..".

B. Out for using incorrect idiom "so..., so that"
C. Incorrect idiom 
D. Correct idiom use "such .... that...". But option D is wordy as compared to option A. I would prefer the use of adjective "abundant" in option A, rather then use of noun "the abundance" in option D.
E. Incorrect idiom. The correct idiom should be "such .... that...".

rphardu · Answer

idiom so x that y.. only A.

GMATPill · Answer

Just wanted to point out that this is a good example of an idiomatic structure that isn't common on everyday speaking--but is definitely something you'll see on the GMAT. So just make a mental note of this structure "so  ...that... "

(A) it is! And if you were comfortable enough with identifying this idiomatic structure, you could have confidently picked (A) without reading too much into any of the other answer choices! This would save you precious seconds so you can focus more on the RC/CR questions with your time.

GGMU · Answer

mikemcgarry   egmat

Can someone explain my query:

IC ; IC  structure or  IC ,  so ........  are the two possible ways to join IC with IC

How come this sentence has both ; and so and is still correct?

teaserbae · Answer

aragonn   GMATNinja   broall   hazelnut   generis   AjiteshArun 
In this SC problem
B is wrong because of incorrect idiom so...so that
C and E that is missing
Why D is wrong ?

aragonn · Answer

teaserbae

First, D changed meaning in comparison to A. 'Such' in D means more on the lines of type X. While A is talking about intensity. Also in D 'has' and 'been' should be together. For these reasons D is not a good choice.

(A) so abundant has capital been for commercial real estate that 
(D) such has the abundance of capital been for commercial real estate that

tamal99 · Answer

Hello  daagh  sir, 
Would appreciate your help to understand why option D of this problem is wrong. I understand that option A is correct, but not getting enough long to cancel out D.

Regards, 
Tamal

Posted from my mobile device

daagh · Answer

The idiom is so adjective that as in A; Or it could be at least be such adjective that. It cannot be of such abundance as in D.

Skywalker18 · Answer

As far as I know 'so' is coordinating conjunction(FANBOYS). Can 'so' also act as subordinating conjunction(on a white bus)?

Also, Magoosh blog (https://magoosh.com/gmat/2017/gmat-gram ... junctions/ ) cited by mikemcgarry has 'so' as subordinating conjunction. AjiteshArun , GMATNinja , MagooshExpert , GMATGuruNY , VeritasPrepBrian , MartyTargetTestPrep , DmitryFarber , VeritasKarishma , generis , jennpt , other experts

rnn · Answer

Hi, after reading through, i am still no sure why D is incorrect... is it only because of the idiom issue i.e. so x that y?

kindly help

generis · Answer

Skywalker18  , yes.  So  can be a subordinating conjunction, but an admittedly limited data survey suggests that GMAC prefers the phrase "so that" over "so."

In formal writing generally,  so  is a subordinating conjunction when  so  implies purpose or result.
Often the construction is  so that .

I reviewed OG 2020 to ensure that my impression from past reviews of questions was accurate. 
A single official guide is not a completely reliable indicator of GMAC's position, but the guide's ~130 questions confirmed what I recalled.

Official guide patterns emerge.

-- The word  so  is not used alone to suggest consequence or purpose. In formal writing, often we are allowed to drop the word  that,  but GMAC does not seem to like the idea of dropping  that .
If "so" seems to be suggesting purpose or causality, do not eliminate the answer on that basis alone unless you are down to two and the other answer uses "so that."
In other words, it is possible but unlikely that  so  has been used  alone  (or could be used alone) as a subordinating conjunction.
 
-- Language in the official explanations refers to  so that  as a causal phrase and thus indicates in a roundabout way that   GMAC considers  so that  a subordinating conjunction.   Examples are beneath the spoiler.

Spoiler alert:   to discuss  so that , I reveal five incorrect answers from four official questions.

So that  is a subordinating conjunction in #778(D), 839(B), 862(D), and 883(D and E).
All: The questions are  here .

• Not one of those answers is correct, BUT 
• not one of the OEs says, "SO THAT is not a subordinating conjunction." 
• Quite the opposite seems to be the case:  so that  is characterized as expressing consequence or causality—and thus is a subordinating conjunction. From OG 2020:
 
-- 778(D): so that the companies seem larger
 OE: Clauses beginning  so that  can express  purpose , but  to  or  for ].

-- 839(B) a thick needle layer protects buds from where new growth proceeds, so that they can withstand forest fires relatively well
 OE: In this context,  needle layer  is less precise than the more standard  layer of needles , which makes it clear that the layer is composed of needles rather than being, for example, a layer of needles.  From where  is . .. redundant in using two words that express the idea of location ( from  and  where ) instead of one. 
 No mention of SO THAT

-- 862D) companies, so that they rarely hold more than one percent
 OE: The singular pronoun  they  refers to  a mutual fund  and thus should be singular 
No mention of SO THAT

-- 883 (D and E) 
(D) so that compared with previous Novembers, sales of light trucks this past November
 OE: The sentence illogically compares sales of light trucks with previous Novembers. The conjunction  so that  nonsensically  introduces a causal relationship  between November's typically strong sales and the aforementioned comparison.

(E) so that this past November’s sales, even compared with previous Novembers’ sales,
 OE: Like (D),  so that  in] this sentence introduces a nonsensical  causal relationship , in this case

Other sources that confirm the usage of  so that  as a subordinating conjunction.

Oxford Online Dictionary (1.1)  ,  here.  The example sentence is 
 It was overgrown with brambles, so that I had difficulty making any progress.  
The sentence means:  Because  it was overgrown with brambles, I had difficulty making any progress.

Cambridge Online Dictionary states,  We use  so  as a subordinating conjunction to introduce clauses of result or decision.  
Scroll down to   So  as a conjunction,   HERE.

So  is described as a "weird" conjunction in this article,  HERE , in which the author notes, "When  so  shows purpose, it acts like a subordinating conjunction."

Controversy exists about  so , standing alone, as a subordinating conjunction; that fact that may inform your question.
GMAC seems to avoid the issue and to use  so that  rather than  so .

Hope that helps.

TheUnicorn · Answer

Original sentence does not appear to have any errors, SO lets scan the other options.

This structure - So Abundant, SO THAT is definitely wrong.

The right idiom is SUCH THAT. We miss THAT here. This is wrong.

This does not seem to have any obvious errors. But, construction with SUCH ... THAT conveys different message. SUCH .. THAT is used to provide examples or equate two terms. With SUCH.. THAT, the sentence says - The abundance of capital been for commercial real estate is  SUCH THAT  ... This is not intended meaning of the sentence. Intended meaning says - The capital for commercial real estate is SO abundant that....
Hence this is wrong..

Same as option C. We miss THAT here.

Mittal20sunidhi · Answer

Even after going through all the solutions stated above.I am still not able to understand why option D is incorrect.Can someone please explain?

MBAB123 · Answer

Mittal20sunidhi , see if this helps you. The 2 biggest problems with D -

1. The idiomatic structure of D is incorrect. The correct structure is "Such has been X..." and not "such has X been.."
2. The idiom "Such has been X..", although used incorrectly here, hints at the quality of something (X).  Abundance  here could be of a large degree or a very small degree. This sentence does not clearly identify how abundant has the capital been.

An array of tax incentives has led to a boom in the construction of ne

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