With corn, soybean, and wheat reserves being low enough so a poor harv

Hello Everyone!

It looks like my original reply to this was removed, so let's give it another try! Let's start with the original question, with any major differences between the options highlighted in orange:

With corn, soybean, and wheat reserves being low enough so a poor harvest would send prices skyrocketing, grain futures brokers and their clients are especially interested in weather that could affect crops.

(A) being low enough so
(B) so low such that
(C) so low that
(D) that are low enough so
(E) that are so low such that

If we look over this question carefully, we can see that this is an example of an idiom question! Let's quickly go over the idiom we're dealing with, and then determine which option uses it correctly!

Here is the idiom:

so X that Y
OR
X so that Y

Okay, now that we know which idiom we're dealing with, let's see which options handle it correctly:

(A) being low enough so --> being X enough so Y = WRONG
(This could have worked if it used the phrase "so that" instead of just "so.")
(B) so low such that --> so X such that Y = WRONG
(C) so low that --> so X that Y = GOOD
(D) that are low enough so --> X enough so Y = WRONG
(This could have worked if it used the phrase "so that" instead of just "so.")
(E) that are so low such that --> so X such that Y = WRONG

There you have it - option C is the only one that uses the idiom correctly! If you can become familiar with common idioms in English, answering these types of questions will be quick and painless!


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

Both “with A, B, and C so low that”, and “with A, B, and C being so low that” mean the same thing except that the 'being' is an unnecessary burden on the clause; this redundancy is the reason that GMAT shuns the word ‘being’ in such contexts

The problem is the such. It's possible to say such that, and it is possible to say so that, but there is no way to say so such that.

This structure is not limited to the GMAT. Maybe you've heard it used in other contexts?

How does "with unemployment so low that..." sound?

Hey Taulark1

Happy to help.

This question touches on our understanding of the financial instrument called "futures". Futures are a type of derivative contract agreement to buy or sell a specific commodity asset or security at a set future date for a set price. Futures contracts, or simply "futures," are traded on futures exchanges like the CME Group and require a brokerage account that's approved to trade futures.

Business owners generally use futures contracts to hedge risk. For example, a corn farmer can use a futures contract to lock in a certain price for their corn months ahead of time. An airline can use futures to hedge against the risk of rising fuel prices.

Now, that we understand what 'futures' are, don't you think a broker trading in futures for food grains and a person buying such futures would be interested in upcoming weather conditions? They would right?

Moving forward, the sentence is trying to convey that the current situation is bleak. The reserves are low. And if there's a poor harvest, there could be severe scarcity of food grain, which would lead to very high prices. So, a broker trading in futures for corn, wheat, soybean, etc. (which means a broker dealing in contracts to buy the corn/wheat/soybean at a set price in future) and a person buying such futures will certainly be interested in upcoming weather conditions, because that would decide whether the harvest/yield would be high or low, and that would help decide the price of the futures contracts they agree upon.

I hope this helps improve your understanding.

Happy Learning!

Abhishek

Hi idilbayar,

With is used here to introduce a situation that (a) affects in some way (a ~reason) and (b) happens at ~the same time as the clause after it. You could replace it with a because.

1a. With reserves so low that a poor harvest would send prices skyrocketing, brokers and their clients are especially interested in weather that could affect crops.

1b. Because reserves are so low that a poor harvest would send prices skyrocketing, brokers and their clients are especially interested in weather that could affect crops.

hi experts , i dont know why i am feeling, some connector is missing between wheat reserves and so...

With corn, soybean, and wheat reserves so low that a poor harvest would.........................

is this a normal usage or just gmat usage, i feel atleast being in between will solve the issue..

With corn, soybean, and wheat reserves being so low that a poor harvest would.. correct me if i am wrong.

thanks

Hi Teitsuya,

It may be better to look at this as so + [ADJ or ADV] before a that-clause.

1. ... so low that a poor harvest would send prices skyrocketing... ← so + [ADJ] + that + [SUB + VERB]

Hi Team

GMATNinja KarishmaB EducationAisle ChrisLele mikemcgarry AjiteshArun egmat sayantanc2k RonPurewal DmitryFarber MagooshExpert avigutman EMPOWERgmatVerbal MartyTargetTestPrep ExpertsGlobal5 other experts

With corn, soybean, and wheat reserves so low that a poor harvest would send prices skyrocketing, grain futures brokers and their clients are especially interested in weather that could affect crops.

Why we have used "Would" when the setence is in present tense , Instead of will?

But can we say “being so low that”?? I’m hesitate on
“With A, B, and C so low that”, and “With A, B, and C being so low that”

Why is B an incorrect answer ?
So low such that is also part of the idiom " So...that"

Kindly help explain

so X that Y

What is X and Y in this sentence?

Hello Vatsal7794,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the main clause of this sentence is in the simple present tense, but the action of sending prices skyrocketing is a hypothetical future action, meaning the use of "would" is appropriate.

Remember, one sentence can refer to actions in different time periods.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

We use 'would' for hypothetical or unlikely cases. We use it when we imagine a situation.
e.g. It would be very difficult to convince her.

In our original sentence, we are imagining a situation.
The reserves are so low that a poor harvest would send prices skyrocketing.

egmat , in this sentence could you please help me understand the meaning conveyed by the prepositional phrase, 'with...reserves so low ..' w.r.t to the following clause ?

I don't understand how the brokers can be interested in something with the reserves ...
does it mean that the prep. phrase means to say that with this situation , the brokers are interested in something..

Your reply would be greatly appreciated!

Can someone please explain what "With corn, soybean, and wheat reserves so low that ..." means? What is the function of the word "with" here? Thank you so much.