D is correct because cause and make are parallel

Can we know the source please? The options aren't particularly stellar.

yup D is the apt choice here because of parallelism..........whats the OA???????

jainrahul1985 wrote: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

Confused b/w A and D . Experts please help

Hi,

D is definitely not the correct choice.

"not as hard as" needs to be followed by a noun, not an action; the usage of that phrase in D is incorrect.

For example, we could say:

Bob's head is not as hard as Fred's;

but we can't say:

Bob's head is not as hard as to make Fred's would be.

Choice (B) is out due to parallelism... "hard enough to make" isn't parallel to "soft enough AS to cause".

(C) also has parallelism issues... "so hard as to make" doesn't match up with "soft enough so it causes".

Similarly, in (E), "making burrowing difficult" isn't parallel to "to cause tunnels to collapse".

Only (A) passes the parallelism test... choose (A)!

Also notice how many options change the intended meaning or create ambiguity in meaning. The original sentence clearly means that the granitic soil is not very hard and not very soft.

B changes the meaning, since it says granitic soil is not hard enough, which implies that granitic soil should have been harder. Ditto with soft enough

C uses so hard as. Just remember that so as is almost never a correct construction on GMAT. This is because the doer/agent of the action does not come out very clearly in this construction

D uses as hard as. This construction (as..as) is used for comparisons. Example: granitic soil is not as hard as red soil. However, no such comparison is being made in D.

E again changes meaning. E seems to suggest that because granitic soil is not too hard, burrowing is difficult (making burrowing difficult is a participial phrase, depicting the effect of the previous clause)

Lastly, while we get too caught up in grammar, a large number of Sentence correction questions can be quite effectively solved if we focus on meaning. After all, using incorrect grammar effects meaning clarity.

Hi Stuart,

Thanks for the explanation. I understand why D is incorrect. But could you please explain how choice A doesn't violate parallelism?

In choice A: I am not sure how "makes burrowing difficult" (present tense verb) is parallel to "could cause" (future tense verb)?

Thanks.

Stuart Kovinsky wrote:

jainrahul1985 wrote: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

Confused b/w A and D . Experts please help

Hi,

D is definitely not the correct choice.

"not as hard as" needs to be followed by a noun, not an action; the usage of that phrase in D is incorrect.

For example, we could say:

Bob's head is not as hard as Fred's;

but we can't say:

Bob's head is not as hard as to make Fred's would be.

Choice (B) is out due to parallelism... "hard enough to make" isn't parallel to "soft enough AS to cause".

(C) also has parallelism issues... "so hard as to make" doesn't match up with "soft enough so it causes".

Similarly, in (E), "making burrowing difficult" isn't parallel to "to cause tunnels to collapse".

Only (A) passes the parallelism test... choose (A)!