Often major economic shifts are so gradual as to be indistinguishable

Often major economic shifts are so gradual as to be indistinguishable at first from ordinary fluctuations in the financial markets

3 options have incorrect idioms/constructs:

* so gradual so that they can be indistinguishable
* gradual enough not to be distinguishable
* gradual enough so that one cannot distinguish them

I think that the battle goes on between A and C.
* so gradual as to be indistinguishable
* so gradual that they are unable to be distinguished

I)Both have correct idioms.
II)Both are grammatically correct, and the meaning is the same.

So which should we pick? We have "indistinguishable" VS "they are unable to be distinguished". If you cannot eliminate an answer because of meaning/grammatical/structural errors, choose the one the conveys the meaning more efficiently. The first option is clearly more concise.

Hello Everyone!

This is a great example of a IDIOM question you might find on the GMAT! Let's take a closer look at this question, one issue at a time, and narrow it down to the correct answer. To start, let's highlight the major differences between the options in orange:

Often major economic shifts are so gradual as to be indistinguishable at first from ordinary fluctuations in the financial markets.

(A) so gradual as to be indistinguishable
(B) so gradual so that 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

There are two major issues we can focus on here:

1. Idioms (so gradual vs. gradual enough)
2. Wordiness (indistinguishable vs. unable to be/not to be distinguishable)

Let's start by focusing on idioms because that's the type of question we're dealing with. Here is a quick reminder of the idioms we're using:

so X as to be Y
so X that Y

Let's take a closer look at each option and eliminate any that use incorrect idioms:

(A) so gradual as to be indistinguishable --> so X as to be Y = OK
(B) so gradual so that they can be indistinguishable --> so X so that Y = WRONG
(C) so gradual that they are unable to be distinguished --> so X that Y = OK
(D) gradual enough not to be distinguishable --> X enough to be Y = WRONG
(E) gradual enough so that one cannot distinguish them --> X enough so that Y = WRONG

We can eliminate options B, D, & E because they don't use the correct idioms.

Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let's tackle #2 on our list: wordiness. The GMAT prefers options that are as concise as possible, so let's see which of these options is better:

(A) so gradual as to be indistinguishable
This is CORRECT! It uses the idiom "so X as to be Y" correctly, and it doesn't use any overly wordy phrases!

(C) so gradual that they are unable to be distinguished
This is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, the pronoun "they" isn't necessary here and could be confusing to readers. Second, the phrase "unable to be distinguished" is overly wordy - the word "indistinguishable" means the same thing in far fewer words!

There you have it - option A is the correct choice! It uses the proper idiom structure, and it's written using the most concise and clear language! If you can focus on the most common idioms found on the GMAT, you'll be able to answer questions like this quickly and effectively!


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.

Often major economic shifts are so gradual as to be indistinguishable at first from ordinary fluctuations in the financial markets.

(A) so gradual as to be indistinguishable “So X as to be Y” is correct idiomatic usage.

(B) so gradual they can be indistinguishable “that” is missing after “so gradual”.

(C) so gradual that they are unable to be distinguished “So gradual that…” is correct idiomatic usage. In this option “they” refers to “shifts”. The phrase “shifts are unable” seems to mean that the shifts lack the ability to do something. Not logical.

(D) gradual enough not to be distinguishable “gradual enough” does not have the same meaning as “so gradual that” or “so gradual as to.”

(E) gradual enough so that one cannot distinguish them Same as D

- Nitha Jay

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Concepts tested here: Idioms + Redundancy/Awkwardness

• “enough + to” is a correct, idiomatic usage; besides, “enough” is used to show “adequacy” and generally not used to show a cause-effect relationship; rather, “so + cause + that + effect” or “so + cause + as to + effect” are some of the preferred constructions for conveying a cause-effect relationship.

A: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the idiomatic construction “so + cause (“gradual”) + as to + effect (“be indistinguishable”)”. Further, Option A is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

B: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction “so + cause (“gradual”) + effect (“be indistinguishable”)”, rather than one of the idiomatic constructions “so + cause + as to + effect” or “so + cause + that + effect”; please remember, “so + cause + that + effect” or “so + cause + as to + effect” are some of the preferred constructions for conveying a cause-effect relationship.

C: Trap. This answer choice uses the needlessly wordy phrase “they are unable to be distinguished”, leading to awkwardness and redundancy.

D: This answer choice uses an awkward phrase “enough not to be distinguishable”; “enough” is used to show “adequacy” and generally not used to show a cause-effect relationship. We have a better answer choice in A.

E: This answer choice uses the unidiomatic construction “cause (“gradual”) + enough + so that + effect (“one cannot distinguish them”)”, rather than one of the idiomatic constructions “so + cause + as to + effect” and “so + cause + that + effect”; please remember, “enough” is used to show “adequacy” and generally not used to show a cause-effect relationship; rather, “so + cause + that + effect” or “so + cause + as to + effect” are some of the preferred constructions for conveying a cause-effect relationship.

Hence, A is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "So As To" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Agree with A, which is idiomatic "so x as to be y" and meaningful.

No dispute for B, D and E.

C looks tempting but changes the meaning. "economic shifts" are neither able nor unable to be distinguished. They do not do that job rather they are indistinguishable for others i.e. people.

IMO
I think enough not to is not correct; the question should read "Often major economic shifts are not gradual enough to be ..."
There is a different in meaning between so ...as and enough to


X enough to Y is used when the emphasis is on Y. "So X as to Y" is used when the emphasis is on X

1. "I am tall enough to touch the ceiling" implies that the focus is on the fact of being able to touch the ceiling.
2." I am so tall as to be able to touch the ceiling" implies that the focus is on the fact of being tall

more examples

1. The lion was so tame that the lionkeeper could enter its cage
2. The lion was tame enough for the lioonkeeper to enter its cage
3. It was such a clear introductory lecture that we decided to take the course
4. It was a clear enough introductory lecture for us to decide to take the course
5. sentence 1 suggests that the lion was very time, whereas 2 does not
6. sentence 3 suggests that the lecture was very clear, while 4 does not


option C is wrong because after able or unable the verb to be is considered wordy; you use the verb to be twice

be able to be ...

About E:

IMO the correct idioms with enough are
enough to and enough for
so E cannot be the correct answer choice

OA is A.

1. so gradual as to be indistinguishable
Option 1 correctly follows the idiom "SO X AS TO Y".

Why is C wrong ?

experts pls help

Hello rishabhdxt,

I will be glad to help you out with this one.

C. so gradual that they are unable to be distinguished

The portion they are unable to seems to suggest that major economic shifts are unable to do something. This definitely is not the intended meaning.


Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

Often major economic shifts are so gradual as to be indistinguishable at first from ordinary fluctuations in the financial markets

(A) so gradual as to be indistinguishable - Correct
(B) so gradual so that they can be indistinguishable - idiom issue - So...so that.
(C) so gradual that they are unable to be distinguished - the use of "unable" to describe something that's not actually an inability of the subject.
(D) gradual enough not to be distinguishable - redundant - not to be distinguishable is same as to be indistinguishable ; enough not to idiom seems incorrect
(E) gradual enough so that one cannot distinguish them - idiom issue - enough so that is unidiomatic

Answer A

Isn't they ambiguous in C ? daagh AjiteshArun

No, not really. The they seems to quite clearly refer to major economic shifts.

Which nouns were you looking at?

I though the they can refer to Financial markets

That part of the sentence is a little "cut off" from the opening. For example:

The student was so happy with her score that she forgot to take her unofficial score report from the lady at the main desk.

Here she cannot refer to the lady at the main desk. It has to refer to the student.

A. so gradual as to be indistinguishable
So X as to Y is the idiom.

B. so gradual they can be indistinguishable

C. so gradual that they are unable to be distinguished
Major economic shifts can't distinguish things....at least I hope not!

D. gradual enough not to be distinguishable

E. gradual enough so that one cannot distinguish them
"Enough so that.." doesn't work together.

This is just kind of interesting: look at how GMAC is plagiarizing itself (and one of my all-time favorite questions) with the same answer choice structure:

(A) "so x as to y" - correct
(C) "so x that y..." (but then an error) - a tempting sentence structure but an incorrect answer
(D)/(E) "x enough that y..."

Just interesting - I haven't seen many cases where they go back to the same template this directly that the sentence structures of all the answer choices are this close.