The political motivation behind the Livonian Crusade was not so much

Question

The political motivation behind the Livonian Crusade was not so much to convert to Christianity the last non-Christian people in Europe, and also for establishing control over the commerce of the entire Baltic region.

(A) and also for establishing

(B) yet to establish

(C) while establishing

(D) as to establish

(E) but more for establishing

For a discussion of the different kinds of verbals, as well as the OE to this particular question, see:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2014/verbals-on ... orrection/

Mike

Show Answer

Official Answer

D

mikemcgarry · Accepted Answer

Dear bhatiamanu05 , I'm happy to respond. :-)

The structure " not such much P as Q " definitely puts two elements in parallel. Those elements could be nouns, adjective, prepositional phrases, clauses, participial phrases, etc. Here, in choice (E) , they are two infinitive phrases. As long as P & Q have the same grammatical form, the parallelism works. Here are some examples. Two nouns : For dinner, I want not so much soup as stew. Two adjectives : He is not so much clever as resourceful. Prepositional phrase : She drove to the train station not so much in a rush as with a clear sense of purpose . In all of these, there is an implied clause following the word " as ." For dinner, I want not so much soup as I want stew . She drove to the train station not so much in a rush as she drove to the train station with a clear sense of purpose In those versions, I have included the words that fill out the second clause. Notice, those versions would NEVER be correct on the GMAT, because they are bloated and wordy and awkward. The sleek and concise versions above would be preferable. Dropping repeated words in parallel is not only acceptable but absolutely necessary in terms of the GMAT's standards of rhetoric. See: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/dropping-c ... -the-gmat/ Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

bhatiamanu05 · Answer

Hi,

Do we not require a opposite clause in case of Not so much.

I go with E.

can you plz explain?

joylive · Answer

No so much X as to Y is an idiom. The pattern mentioned must match amongst the answer choices.

Divyadisha · Answer

Correct idiom is 'not so much X as Y'

Only option D mentions this idiom correctly, and hence is the answer

believer700 · Answer

I agree that (D) uses the correct idiom, but I wanted to know can   Much   usage in the non-underlined part and  More  usage in (E), be a reason to eliminate (E).

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear believer700 , I'm happy to respond. :-)

Your question made me realize that we had edited the question in the Magoosh product and never made the change here. Take a look at (E) now. Let me know if you have any questions. Mike :-)

nuttyxtreme · Answer

Hi mikemcgarry , Thanks for your effort for such a wonderful question and explanation Good to know an idiom "not so much x as y" Still,I wonder why this sentence "," between x and as y in the given question? Please enlighten me :oops:

brs1cob · Answer

not so much to X as to Y is an idiom.
only D has it

ydmuley · Answer

This question is testing IDIOM knowledge.

The correct IDIOM should be   "Not So Much X as Y"

Also, we need parallelism between "to convert" and "to establish"

Hence, D

Gmat800Champ · Answer

not so much ... as

Only option D has this structure.

Raxit85 · Answer

Can anyone explain why not B as the sentence meaning is in contrary nature.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

abhimahna · Answer

Hey Raxit85 , I am happy to help

You didn't understand the meaning of the sentence correctly. We are saying the main motivation was to establish some control. We do have another motivation(to convert to Christianity ) but that is not the main one. So, ideally there isn't any contrast in the meaning of the sentence. Hence, B is out. Also, the correct idiom is so much X as Y where X and Y MUST be ||. X: To Convert Y: To Establish Hence, D is correct. Does that make sense?

madhukaramar · Answer

The political motivation behind the Livonian Crusade was not so much to convert to Christianity the last non-Christian people in Europe, and also for establishing control over the commerce of the entire Baltic region. 
(A) and also for establishing 
(B) yet to establish 
(C) while establishing 
(D) as to establish 
(E) but more for establishing

Idiom is - Something was not so much to do x as to do y. - Only D fits in.

VerbalBot · Answer

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The political motivation behind the Livonian Crusade was not so much

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The political motivation behind the Livonian Crusade was not so much

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