Saturated Quicksand


(A) Meaning / Idiom (so … as to)

(B) CORRECT

(C) Modifier (saturated with water enough)

(D) Meaning / Idiom (so as to)

(E) Meaning / Idiom (so … as to)


First glance

Three of the answer choices begin with that; consider Modifiers.

Issues

(1) Meaning / Idiom: so as to

According to the sentence, quicksand is sand that is saturated with water. Specifically, it is so significantly saturated with water that it becomes liquid-like. When using so to express that something has happened to a great degree, the correct idiom is so (adjective/adverb) that (independent clause). For example, the two sentences below are grammatically correct:

She studied so much that she got an 800 on the GMAT.

The yard was so overgrown with weeds that it took the gardeners five days to mow it.

Answer choices (A), (B), (D), and (E) use so. However, only one of them, choice (B), correctly uses the idiom so (adjective/adverb) that (independent clause). The remaining choices all inappropriately use the idiom so as to, which means in order to. This is not the intended meaning of the sentence, so eliminate choices (A), (D), and (E).

(2) Modifier: enough

The word enough can be used as either an adjective (enough pie to feed everyone) or an adverb (I ate enough for three people). When used as an adjective, enough almost always comes before the noun it modifies (saturated with enough water). When used as an adverb, enough generally appears immediately next to the verb it modifies (saturated enough with water). In this sentence, enough can logically be used as either an adjective or an adverb. However, it must appear in the correct position to serve as one of these two types of modifiers.

In answer choice (C), enough comes after water, so it cannot be an adjective, and it is not next to saturated, so it cannot be an adverb. Compare this to answer choice (D), in which enough correctly appears as an adverb next to saturated. Therefore, in answer (C), enough is not in the correct location to modify either water or saturated. Eliminate answer (C).

The Correct Answer

Correct answer (B) properly conveys the meaning with the idiom so … that. It also avoids incorrectly placing the modifier enough by not using the word at all.

Hi GMATGuruNY - could you give some simpler examples of the idiom : so X as to Y

Here are some I have tried but I am struggling

#1) Bezos is so Rich as to be considered the Richest of all time

Are you saying, per this sentence -- The Y marker (in pink) ONLY SEEMS to be true ? Is this inferencing, that perhaps, no one is really considering Bezos AS the richest of all time ?

#2) Sam is so embarrassed as to be considering suicide

Are you saying, per this sentence -- The Y marker (in pink) ONLY SEEMS to be true ? i.e. Sam is actually NOT considering suicide at all.

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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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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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.



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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