Dear Friends,
Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
gmatavenue wrote:
In 1527 King Henry VIII sought to have his marriage to Queen Catherine annulled
so as to marry Anne Boleyn.
(A) so as to marry
(B) and so could be married to
(C) to be married to
(D) so that he could marry
(E) in order that he would marry
I want some help to understand why C is wrong. You can say it is passive. But it is not the
reason given by
OG.
In
OG it says "
The infinitive must be preceded by a conjunction ( in order ). "To marry" is preferable to wordier "to be married to" ".
I cannot crack this.
In 1527 King Henry VIII decided to marry Anne Boleyn - OK
In 1527 King Henry VIII he divorced Queen Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn - OK [ I hope ]
But why I cannot say:
In 1527 King Henry VIII sought to have his marriage to Queen Catherine annulled to marry Anne Boleyn.
Why ( according to
OG ) I have to say:
In 1527 King Henry VIII sought to have his marriage to Queen Catherine annulled
in order to marry Anne Boleyn.
I am missing something here.
SOS
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that King Henry VIII sought to have his marriage to Queen Catherine annulled in order to marry Anne Boleyn.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Idioms + Awkwardness/Redundancy• “action + so + that + purpose” is a correct, idiomatic usage for describing the purpose of a given action.
• "so as to" is generally an incorrect usage, and "so + cause + as to + effect" is the correct, idiomatic usage.
• "in order to" and "so that" are the correct, idiomatic constructions.
A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "so as to" to refer to the purpose of the action "sought to have his marriage to Queen Catherine annulled"; remember, “action + so + that + purpose” is a correct, idiomatic usage for describing the purpose of a given action; "so as to" is generally an incorrect usage, and "so + cause + as to + effect" is the correct, idiomatic usage.
B: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "and so could be married"; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that King Henry VIII sought to have his marriage to Queen Catherine annulled,
and as a result he could marry Anne Boleyn; the intended meaning is that King Henry VIII sought to have his marriage to Queen Catherine annulled
in order to marry Anne Boleyn.
C: This answer choice uses the passive construction "be married to", leading to awkwardness and redundancy.
D: Correct. This answer choice uses the phrase "so that he could marry", conveying the intended meaning - that King Henry VIII sought to have his marriage to Queen Catherine annulled
in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Further, Option D correctly uses the idiomatic construction “action ("sought to have his marriage to Queen Catherine annulled ") + so + that + purpose ("he could marry Anne Boleyn”)" to refer to the purpose of the action "sought to have his marriage to Queen Catherine annulled". Additionally, Option D is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.
E: This answer choice incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "in order that"; remember, "in order to" and "so that" are the correct, idiomatic constructions.
Hence, D is the best answer choice.To understand the use of "So As To" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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