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I was reading an article regarding idioms, and one of the contributors complained about the incorrect usage of grammar in professional writing. The exact topic isn't important, but something caught my eye:

I can’t help wondering where those “professionals” learned English. If I’m wrong, would you be so kind as to straighten me out?

In the latter sentence, they use the phrase 'as to' followed by a to-infinitive. However, isn't the 'to' in 'as to' a preposition? Should it not be 'so as to straighten'? My understanding is that 'as to' should always be followed by a noun, as it is a synonym of 'regarding' or 'concerning'. Here is an example:

I asked many questions as to the state of the building.

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Both your examples are correct

[...] be so kind as to [do something] is a set phrase, but the construction is just like so tall as (the Empire State Building/the BFG/your mom).

as to [noun] is a discourse marker, meaning roughly, "the topic of the following remark is [noun]". If you know Japanese, it's like は. You can read about topic-comment structure here.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic_and_comment

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  • That makes sense. I didn't notice that 'so kind as to' is just 'so as to' with 'kind' in the middle.
    – MJ Ada
    Commented Sep 17, 2021 at 11:54
  • @MJAda Do you know the construction "as X as Y"? This is a variation on that same construction. Just with "so" instead of the first "as". They're equivalent. It's like saying "To straighten me out, that would be very kind. Would you be as kind as that?"
    – Omar and Lorraine
    Commented Sep 17, 2021 at 11:57
  • That makes sense, and it does explain my confusion.
    – MJ Ada
    Commented Sep 17, 2021 at 13:18

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