DmitryFarber, EMPOWERgmatVerbal

In the discussion, it was stated that the construction "as X as Y" needs to be followed by noun. Is this really true? What about "We have as many apples as need to be cooked." I understand that the usage in D is unidiomatic but I would like to understand why or what are the rules for the usage of "as X as Y" so I don't make the same error in the future. Many thanks.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal VeritasKarishma GMATNinja

I understood that in the construction "as X as Y", the "Y" has to be a noun. However, in the official OG question I've encountered a problem in which this does not hold (https://gmatclub.com/forum/according-to ... 46774.html). Could I possibly ask you for an explanation?

Hello Everyone!

While I've seen some good discussion here, it seems like this question is pretty challenging for everyone! Let's take a closer look at it to figure out how to best answer this difficult SC question!

Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction material for the desert tortoise because it is not so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse.

(A) so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause
(B) hard enough to make burrowing difficult or soft enough as to cause
(C) so hard as to make burrowing difficult or soft enough so it causes
(D) as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause
(E) too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause

After a quick scan over the options, there are a few things we can focus on to narrow down our choices:

1. so hard / hard enough / as hard / too hard
2. that it makes / to make / as to make / making
3. so soft / soft enough / as soft as / nor too soft
4. that it could cause / as to cause / so it causes

With so many things to choose from, where do we start? There aren’t any “either/or” options to choose from, so we need to look at the bigger picture to determine what type of issue we’re dealing with:

Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction material for the desert tortoise because it is not so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse.

We are trying to determine how to word two different phrases, so it’s most likely what we’re dealing with here is PARALLELISM! We need to make sure both phrases are worded similarly so they “flow” together nicely.

Let’s take a close look at each option to determine which ones use parallel structure. To make the parallelism issues easier to spot, let’s add the non-underlined portion from the end of the sentence:

(A) so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse
This is OKAY for now because both phrases are written using parallel structure, so let’s save this one for later.

(B) hard enough to make burrowing difficult or soft enough as to cause tunnels to collapse
This is INCORRECT because it’s not parallel. If it had said “soft enough to cause,” then it would be parallel.

(C) so hard as to make burrowing difficult or soft enough so it causes tunnels to collapse
This is also INCORRECT because it’s not parallel. The beginnings of both phrases are clearly worded differently.

(D) as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause tunnels to collapse
This is OKAY for now because both phrases are written using parallel structure, so let’s save this one for later.

(E) too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause tunnels to collapse
This is INCORRECT because “making” and “so as to cause” are not parallel.


We can eliminate options B, C, and E because they do not use parallel structure for both phrases. Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let’s take a closer look to see if we can find any other problems:

(A) so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse

This option is CORRECT! It is written using parallel structure, and there are no other problems we can find!

(D) as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause tunnels to collapse

This is INCORRECT because the sentence uses the phrases “as soft as” and “as hard as” incorrectly. Whenever you see “as X as” in a sentence, the word immediately after it MUST be a noun. In this case, there is a verb after each one, which is not grammatically correct.


There you have it – option A was the correct choice all along! It uses parallel structure and doesn’t contain any idiomatic problems!

I hope this helps!

I agree with option A but my doubt here with option A is the verb of It in the last part of the sentence. "so soft that it cause". Shouldn't it be "causes" as it is singular. Moreover "so hard that it makes" also reflects its should be.. It make me think over this option longer.

Please clarify.

Posted from my mobile device

warrior1991 , well, the good news is that you missed a hard question.

The posters above are correct. Option E is not parallel.
Nor is a conjunction. [That fact is easy to forget.]
Conjunctions pair equivalent things (noun phrases with noun phrases, for example).
Conjunctions are parallelism markers and join structures that are similar.

In option E, the phrases that follow too hard and too soft are not similar in structure and thus are not parallel.

(E) [G]ranitic soil is the ideal construction material for the tortoise because it is not too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause tunnels to collapse.

Granitic soil is the ideal construction material for the desert tortoise because
IT is
NOT
-- too hard, making burrowing difficult,
NOR
-- too soft, so as to cause [tunnels to collapse]

Nor, a conjunction, signals that the two things that nor joins must be similar structures.

What structures do we have in option E? Essentially, an __ING phrase and an idiomatic clause of consequence that does not begin with an __ING word

making burrowing difficult
-- anchored by making, which in this case is a verb-like noun (in jargon, a "simple gerund." )
-- the structure is a participial phrase: [verbING] + [direct object] + [adverb]

so as to cause tunnels to collapse
-- anchored by so as to, which in this case is an idiom of consequence
-- the structure of so as to is an idiomatic conjunction that leads to a clause of consequence: [so as to] + [infinitive] + [direct object] + [infinitive modifier]

Compare the anchors.*
So as to is definitely not a verbING (a gerund).

Option E would be parallel if it were written in these two ways, the first of which is much better than the second:
. . . [the soil] is not too hard, making burrowing difficult, nor too soft, causing tunnels to collapse

. . . [the soil] is not too hard, so as to make burrowing difficult, nor too soft, so as to cause tunnels to collapse
(So as to as an idiom of consequence is rare. GMAC tends to use the construction in (A). )

Hope that helps.



*The anchors in Option A are similar.
Option A joins two parallel examples of the idiomatic structure So X that Y
so hard that it makes burrowing difficult
or
so soft that it could cause
[so] + [adjective] + [that] + [it] + [verb]
As others have mentioned, the verbs (makes and could cause) do not need to be parallel because meaning allows the verbs to be paired.
We can pair a simple present and a hypothetical: The building is sturdy and could withstand a monsoon.