"como para" contrasted with "para"

Question

Sentence: Hiciste lo suficiente como para aprobar el examen.

Is "como" necessary?

If "como" is not necessary, how does leaving it in alter the way the sentence is interpreted (as opposed to leaving it out)?

Basically, what´s going on regarding the difference and uses of "para" vs "como para"?

I'll share a very common phrase with you in Spanish: "A palabras necias, oídos sordos". - francobollo, May 27, 2013

Answer 1

I would guess it wd be the difference between ..

I did enough so as to be able to ....

and.

I did enough to be able to ....

Thanks for writing out your translations. It helps me to see how people further along than me think out the sentences. - Trieltor, May 27, 2013

Answer 2

Como is not necessary. Hiciste lo suficiente para aprobar el examen sounds more natural than Hiciste lo suficiente como para aprobar el examen. The second phrase sounds anglicized and wordy.

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Kiwi-Girl´s translation is perfect and no, it is not "anglicized and wordy" but very common. The choice of structure is a matter of preference. So we can say in this case lo suficiente para aprobar / lo suficiente como para aprobar / lo suficiente así para aprobar with the last variant being the most formal.