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sid0791
Hi GMATNinja egmat DmitryFarber,

Although B seems best, as "to acquire" shows intention.
But I have a doubt in B regarding parallelism.

So....that

because of so....that, phrase/clause after "so" should be parallel with phrase/clause after "that"

but in B, after "that" it contains "it"
now we know "it" refers to "sand", but as "sand" is common, how can we repeat the subject? it would make it illogical.

sand that is so saturated with water that it acquires the character of a liquid

Help me out to understand, if they maintain, parallelism.

Thanks & Regards
Sid
Public service announcement: do not go looking for parallelism when there's no parallelism trigger! (If you don't know what we mean when we refer to "parallelism triggers", check out this video and maybe this distantly related sequel.)

And there's no trigger here. In the phrase "so X that Y," usually "X" will be an adjective and "Y" will be a full clause that's a consequence of that adjective. "Tim was so tired that he fell asleep." Or "Tim was so angry that he lost his voice yelling at squirrels." No parallelism required.

Same deal in "so saturated with water that it acquires the character of a liquid." The phrase isn't parallel, and there's no reason for it to be.

I hope that clears things up!
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jabhatta2
Hi GMATGuruNY - could you give some simpler examples of the idiom : so X as to Y

so X as to Y:
Here, Y is not a fact but an opinion.

The plot is so convoluted as to be incomprehensible.
Conveyed meaning:
The plot is so convoluted that it seems incomprehensible.

John and his brother are so alike as to be the same person.
Conveyed meaning:
John and his brother are so alike that they seem to be the same person.

The theory is so vague as to be meaningless.
Conveyed meaning:
The theory is so vague that it seems meaningless.

In each case, the green Y-portion is an opinion -- the opinion of the sentence-writer.

so X that Y:
Here, Y is not an opinion but a fact.

The book is so long that few readers ever finish it.
Here, the blue Y-portion is a fact.
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jabhatta2
Hi GMATGuruNY - I see 4 different expressions among the five choices
1) a liquid's character (seen in option A)
2) the character of a liquid (seen in option B and in option D)
3) liquid characterstics (Seen in option C)
4) a liquid character (Seen in option E)

Other than 2) character of a liquid (seen in option B and in option D) -- are all the remaining three variations in the list above wrong ?

The wording in the OA -- the character of a liquid -- is best.

Correct:
The color of the bookcase is white.
Suspect:
The bookcase color is white.

Quote:
Also shouldn't B be instead : 2) the characterISTIC of a liquid NOT {the character of a liquid }

From my dictionary:
character = the QUALITIES distinctive to a person or thing
characteristic = a QUALITY belonging to a person or thing

Whereas the character of a liquid refers to ALL of the qualities of a liquid, the characteristic of a liquid would imply that a liquid has only ONE quality -- not the intended meaning.
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Bunuel
Technically, "quicksand" is the term for sand that is so saturated with water as to acquire a liquid's character.

(A) that is so saturated with water as to acquire a liquid's character

(B) that is so saturated with water that it acquires the character of a liquid

(C) that is saturated with water enough to acquire liquid characteristics

(D) saturated enough with water so as to acquire the character of a liquid

(E) saturated with water so much as to acquire a liquid character


(SC00971)


All options have different meaning, with B having the best!

(A) that is so saturated with water as to acquire a liquid's character
- Sounds incomplete.
Sand is so saturated with water as to acquire a liquid's character to do what??

(B) that is so saturated with water that it acquires the character of a liquid
- States a general property in simple present tense.


(C) that is saturated with water enough to acquire liquid characteristics
- so saturated != saturated enough
I am so hungry. - At max
I am hungry enough. - At bare minimum to get food

(D) saturated enough with water so as to acquire the character of a liquid
Same as C.

(E) saturated with water so much as to acquire a liquid character
'liquid character' is bad. We have 'liquid state' for that.
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Hello Experts, TargetTestPrep egmat mgmat

I am not convinced with choice A.
many of the explanation say that- So X as to Y is used for "in order to" purposes.
that sand is so saturated in order to aquire liquid's character!- which is wrong bacause its not intentional- Ok taken!

What about this official question-

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

here the original choice is correct, but if "in order to" is correct in the previous question.
How this one is correct here?

Shifts are gradual in order to be indistinguishable?- its like shifts purposly want to be indistinguishable! - that doesn't make sense. shifts are nonlivings!

Whats the general rule for "so as to be"? please clear both doubts.

Thanks in advance!
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dcoolguy
Whats the general rule for "so as to be"? please clear both doubts.
Incidentally, another official question that uses "so...as to", comes to mind:

The Emperor Augustus, it appears, commissioned an idealized sculpture portrait, the features of which are so unrealistic as to constitute what one scholar calls an "artificial face."

The construct so…as to (typically: so + adjective + as to) is generally used to redefine/explain the adjective following so; on the other hand, the construct so…that (typically: so + adjective + that) is used to indicate a consequence of the adjective following so.

In the sentence under consideration, the intent is clearly to depict the consequence of high level of saturation of sand. Hence, "so...that" is the appropriate usage.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses difference between "so..as to" and "so..that", their application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
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dcoolguy
Hello Experts, TargetTestPrep egmat mgmat

I am not convinced with choice A.
many of the explanation say that- So X as to Y is used for "in order to" purposes.
that sand is so saturated in order to aquire liquid's character!- which is wrong bacause its not intentional- Ok taken!

What about this official question-

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

here the original choice is correct, but if "in order to" is correct in the previous question.
How this one is correct here?

Shifts are gradual in order to be indistinguishable?- its like shifts purposly want to be indistinguishable! - that doesn't make sense. shifts are nonlivings!

Whats the general rule for "so as to be"? please clear both doubts.

Thanks in advance!

Hello dcoolguy,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the example sentence you have given employs the "so + cause ("gradual") + as to + effect ("be indistinguishable")" idiomatic construction, conveying that the economic shifts are indistinguishable from ordinary fluctuations in the financial markets, at first, because they are so gradual; remember, “so + cause + that + effect” and “so + cause + as to + effect” are some of the preferred constructions for conveying a cause-effect relationship.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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dcoolguy
Hello Experts, TargetTestPrep egmat mgmat

I am not convinced with choice A.
many of the explanation say that- So X as to Y is used for "in order to" purposes.
that sand is so saturated in order to aquire liquid's character!- which is wrong bacause its not intentional- Ok taken!

What about this official question-

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

here the original choice is correct, but if "in order to" is correct in the previous question.
How this one is correct here?

Shifts are gradual in order to be indistinguishable?- its like shifts purposly want to be indistinguishable! - that doesn't make sense. shifts are nonlivings!

Whats the general rule for "so as to be"? please clear both doubts.

Thanks in advance!

Hello dcoolguy,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the example sentence you have given employs the "so + cause ("gradual") + as to + effect ("be indistinguishable")" idiomatic construction, conveying that the economic shifts are indistinguishable from ordinary fluctuations in the financial markets, at first, because they are so gradual; remember, “so + cause + that + effect” and “so + cause + as to + effect” are some of the preferred constructions for conveying a cause-effect relationship.

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

thanks very enlightening
but, whats wrong with quick sand example ?
why so "cause" as to "takes liquid's character" is wrong?
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I am wondering about the "so+cause+as to+effect" relationship here.

"Economic shifts are so gradual as to be indistinguishable at first" is a correct answer choice. Does this answer choice mean that the intention of Economic shifts was to be indistinguishable?
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Bunuel
Technically, "quicksand" is the term for sand that is so saturated with water as to acquire a liquid's character.

(A) that is so saturated with water as to acquire a liquid's character

(B) that is so saturated with water that it acquires the character of a liquid

(C) that is saturated with water enough to acquire liquid characteristics

(D) saturated enough with water so as to acquire the character of a liquid

(E) saturated with water so much as to acquire a liquid character


(SC00971)

Hi Experts GMATNinja KarishmaB Bunuel GMATGuruNY

Is it always the case that for non living objects, showcasing an intension is an issue??
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Bunuel
Technically, "quicksand" is the term for sand that is so saturated with water as to acquire a liquid's character.

(A) that is so saturated with water as to acquire a liquid's character

(B) that is so saturated with water that it acquires the character of a liquid

(C) that is saturated with water enough to acquire liquid characteristics

(D) saturated enough with water so as to acquire the character of a liquid

(E) saturated with water so much as to acquire a liquid character


(SC00971)

Hi Experts GMATNinja KarishmaB Bunuel GMATGuruNY

Is it always the case that for non living objects, showcasing an intension is an issue??

Think about it - when we talk about intention, we are referring to thought proocess. But non living things do not have thought process. So they cannot do anything with a certain intent. We use them to do something as per our intent.

But note that this sentence does not use 'so as to.' This is used to showcase intent.
It uses 'so saturated as to...' The construct 'so (modifier) as to' is used in hypothetical situations.
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I chose A because "IT" in option B is ambiguous.
Can anyone explain this? How it is referring only to "quicksand"?
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SohiniSengupta
I chose A because "IT" in option B is ambiguous.
Can anyone explain this? How it is referring only to "quicksand"?


... that (the sand) is so saturated with water that it acquires the character of a liquid...

'it' refers to the subject of the clause 'the sand' (that particular sand i.e. quicksand). We are talking about the sand only. There is no ambiguity in meaning either. 'Water' cannot acquire the character of a liquid. It is already a liquid.
Hence, it is completely acceptable.
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GMATGuruNY
There are several reasons to eliminate A and choose B.

so X as to Y implies that Y SEEMS TO BE TRUE.
Official examples:
Climatic shifts are so gradual as to be indistinguishable from ordinary fluctuations in the weather.
The features of the idealized sculpture portrait are so unrealistic as to constitute what one scholar calls an "artificial face."
In each case, the blue portion is something that SEEMS TO BE TRUE about the preceding subject in red.

so X that Y implies that Y ACTUALLY HAPPENS.
An official example:
Everyday life is so brisk that it hampers the ability of some children to distinguishing discrete sounds.
Here, the blue portion is something that ACTUALLY HAPPENS -- an action that is actually performed by the preceding subject in red.

A key difference between the two idioms:
Whereas in the second idiom Y can serve to express an actual action, in the first idiom it cannot.
In the first idiom, Y must serve to express not an actual action but something that merely SEEMS TO BE TRUE about the preceding subject.

A: so saturated with water as to acquire a liquid's character
Here, so X as to Y incorrectly serves to express the action in red.
As noted above, Y in this idiom must serve to express not an actual action but something that merely seems to be true about the preceding subject.

Moreover, the usage of so X as to Y implies that the portion in red does not actually happen.
Not the intended meaning.
A person can DROWN in quicksand.
Thus, quicksand actually DOES acquire the character of a liquid.
To express this meaning, we should use so X that Y, as in the OA:
"Quicksand"...is so saturated with water that it acquires the character of a liquid.

Another issue:

A dog's eyes can reveal much about its temperament.
Here, the phrase in blue implies that every dog has UNIQUE eyes -- eyes that can reveal much about the dog's temperament.

A: a liquid's character
This phrase seems to imply that every liquid has a UNIQUE character.

Not the intended meaning.
The intention here is to discuss the general nature of any given liquid.
The OA correctly expresses this meaning:
"Quicksand"... is so saturated with water that it acquires the character of a liquid.
Here, THE CHARACTER of a liquid = the general nature of any given liquid.

Further:
The GMAT tends to frown upon applying an apostrophe to an inanimate object.
Inferior: The TABLE'S legs are wobbling.
Better: The legs OF THE TABLE are wobbling.
The wording D (the character OF A LIQUID) Is preferable to that in A (a LIQUID'S character).

For all these reasons, eliminate A.

GMATGuruNY
Thank you very much for the nice explanation, Sir.
So, you are saying that with the term ''book's page'' it means ''every book has UNIQUE page'', right?
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TheUltimateWinner
Thank you very much for the nice explanation, Sir.
So, you are saying that with the term ''book's page'' it means ''every book has UNIQUE page'', right?

Yes, if the construction in quotes is preceded by the article a, as follows:
a + NOUN's + NOUN
Consider the following phrase:
a city's landscape
A quick Internet search offers the following usage:
Historic buildings, unique natural scenery, streets, and landmarks are part of a city's landscape.
Clearly, the landscape in New York is not the same as that in Los Angeles; each city has its own unique landscape.
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TheUltimateWinner
Thank you very much for the nice explanation, Sir.
So, you are saying that with the term ''book's page'' it means ''every book has UNIQUE page'', right?

Yes, if the construction in quotes is preceded by the article a, as follows:
a + NOUN's + NOUN
Consider the following phrase:
a city's landscape
A quick Internet search offers the following usage:
Historic buildings, unique natural scenery, streets, and landmarks are part of a city's landscape.
Clearly, the landscape in New York is not the same as that in Los Angeles; each city has its own unique landscape.
GMATGuruNY
Just wow. Thanks for the nice example, Sir.
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