Treating "but" as "and" on the LSATs

[patrice.antoine]

Does this generally hold true in the LSAT world as it applies to both LR and LG questions? Case in point:

"I want to attend a top law school, BUT that requires a high LSAT score. Therefore, I cannot get into law a top law school without a high LSAT".

Treating "but" as "and" in this sentence still makes it valid, is this not so?


Thanks.

[tommywallach]

Hey Patrice,

Really good point. Indeed, "but" and "and" mean effectively the same thing, in terms of grammatical usage. They are both conjunctions, linking two pieces of a sentence.

"But" is cool because it introduces a contrasting piece of information, which is helpful for meaning.

"I want this sandwich and it costs $20."

"I want this sandwich but it costs $20."

Notice, in the second sentence, it's clear that I'm experiencing some anguish over the cost of this sandwich. In fact, it seems to be implying that I can't afford it (though you certainly couldn't infer that on an LSAT question).

However, from an LSAT logic perspective, these two sentences effectively mean the same thing: two things are true about the sandwich.

Hope that helps!

-t

[patrice.antoine]

It does help. Thanks Tommy!