Although one link in the chain was demonstrated to be weak, but not su

Although one link in the chain was demonstrated to be weak, but not sufficiently so to require the recall of the automobile.
(A) demonstrated to be weak, but not sufficiently so to require ('to be' is unidiomatic).
(B) demonstrated as weak, but it was not sufficiently so that it required ('demonstrated as' is idiomatically correct; however, 'it was not...' is wordy).
(C) demonstrably weak, but not sufficiently so to require (need the idiom 'as to require')
(D) demonstrably weak, it was not so weak as to require (correct idiom of 'as to require')
(E) demonstrably weak, it was not weak enough that it required (slightly wordy with extra 'it')

Although is already stating a contrast, the use of But with although is simply redundant so Option A B and C are out

Between C and D
C uses the correct idiom Not so X as Y

Official Explanation:

Choices A and C entail ungrammatical constructions because they do not produce a sentence that has a main clause with a subject and a verb. In choice B, demonstrated as weak is unidiomatic; also in choices B and C Although and but should not be used together because only one is needed to express the relationship between the ideas. Choice D is best. Choice E is less concise and idiomatic than D; moreover, it is imprecise to say that one link in the chain (the referent of it) actually required the recall.

Although one link in the chain was demonstrated to be weak, but not sufficiently so to require the recall of the automobile.

(A) demonstrated to be weak, but not sufficiently so to require- usage of 'but' and 'although' makes the sentence incorrect- both grammatically and logically(redundant)
(B) demonstrated as weak, but it was not sufficiently so that it required - same as A
(C) demonstrably weak, but not sufficiently so to require- same as A
(D) demonstrably weak, it was not so weak as to require- Correct
(E) demonstrably weak, it was not weak enough that it required- usage of enough

1. 'weak enough' vs 'so weak'- weak enough means some kind of threshold value of weakness whereas so weak means that a high magnitude of weakness.
Can this be used as a decision point? I used it as I think so weak is better here.
2. Both pronouns 'it' in option E refer to one link?
3. Is there any other reason to eliminate option E?

AjiteshArun , GMATNinja , MagooshExpert , GMATGuruNY , VeritasPrepBrian , MartyTargetTestPrep , DmitryFarber , VeritasKarishma , generis ,
EducationAisle ,
other experts - please enlighten

Answer D

Both "so weak as to" and "weak enough" indicate thresholds.

The difference between the two is subtle.

"So weak as to require" is better than "weak enough that it required" in this case, because "enough" has connotations of some kind of goal, whereas "so weak as to" has connotations of there being an issue of such great magnitude that something is the case.


Yes.

(E) is a bit wordy and awkward.

(E) would be better, but not as good as (D), in the following form:

(Revised E) demonstrably weak, it was not weak enough to require

That version created via the use of (Revised E) still doesn't convey a meaning that makes as much sense as the meaning conveyed by the version created via the use of (D).

By the way, the questions that you are asking in this case are more relevant to GMAT Sentence Correction than some of the others you have asked on GMAT Club. That subtle difference between "so weak as to" and "weak enough that it" is very GMAT esque.

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-



Choice A: In Option A, the use of "but" is redundant and inappropriate as the word "Although" already conveys the sense of contrast between the two ideas expressed in this sentence. These two ideas are that one link in the chain was weak and that this weakness was not great enough to require a recall of the automobile. Thus, Option A is incorrect.

Choice B: Option B shares the same error as Option A and is similarly incorrect.

Choice C: Option C shares the same error that Options A and B do and is similarly incorrect.

Choice D: Option D expresses the intended meaning of the sentence and includes no redundancies. Thus, Option D is correct.

Choice E: In Option E, the phrase "not weak enough that it required" makes the answer choice a bit too wordy. Additionally, Option E utilizes the phrase “enough that”, rather than the idiomatically correct phrase “enough to”. Moreover, there is a slight ambiguity of meaning. The use of the second "it" seems to suggest that the weak link did not require the recall of the automobile, which is not exactly correct. Thus, Option E is incorrect.

Hence, D is the best answer choice.

All the best!
Experts' Global Team

It is only me who rejected A, B, C because they were using two redundant words, "although" and "but" ? Am I correct in my thinking that they both can't be used together or I got lucky with my assumption?

I would think so too Neelanjan. Good catch .

Though I accept the above mentioned facts, none has shed light on whether usage of "required" is correct (in terms of tense).
The majority of explanations mention that E is wordy and "enough to" is the right idiom. But it is not easy either to identify wordy choices or to remember all idioms.
Is there anything wrong with the tense formation in E because of the usage of "required"

A, and C use "so to require" which is an incorrect use here

B and E state that "it required" which is incorrect. The phrase would sound like this, "one link required the recall of the automobile" the link can't require the recall

D remains and uses the correct "as to require" idiom

@e-gmat: 'Although' indicates contrast so if we see 'but' (also indicates contrast) in the same sentence does that is redundant and can we eliminate the answer options ?