Usage of So ..As

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Usage of So ..As

by venjam » Sun Sep 02, 2012 9:43 am
Hi all,

According to GMAT is usage of So..As acceptable??

Please clarify

-Thanks

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by KapTeacherEli » Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:22 pm
Hi Venjam,

So...as... is acceptable. It uses a particular format: So [modifier or descriptor] as [infinitive verb]

For example, "the economic situation has become so severe as to constitute a crisis."

Note that "so as to," meaning "in order to," is a similar but unrelated English Idiom; I don't know off the top of my head if it has ever appeared in a correct GMAT answer choice, but I'd be suspicious of it as a potentially wordy and awkward phrasing. Regardless, "so as to" is used only to indicate purpose--never to indicate extent, as "so...as..." does.

Hope this helps!
Eli Meyer
Kaplan GMAT Teacher
Cambridge, MA
www.kaptest.com/gmat

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by confuse mind » Sun Sep 02, 2012 6:53 pm
KapTeacherEli wrote:Hi Venjam,

So...as... is acceptable. It uses a particular format: So [modifier or descriptor] as [infinitive verb]

For example, "the economic situation has become so severe as to constitute a crisis."

Note that "so as to," meaning "in order to," is a similar but unrelated English Idiom; I don't know off the top of my head if it has ever appeared in a correct GMAT answer choice, but I'd be suspicious of it as a potentially wordy and awkward phrasing. Regardless, "so as to" is used only to indicate purpose--never to indicate extent, as "so...as..." does.

Hope this helps!

Thanks Sir.
Can you please add some insights on the difference between the usage of 'so as to' and 'so that'