3月9日号：As … as

One way we can compare things in English is by using the structure as + (adjective / adverb) + as. Today, let’s look at how we can use this structure in our conversations.

The basic meaning of as + (adjective / adverb) + as is to show that two things are equal. For example:

◆ My mother is as old as my father.

◆ My friend can play the guitar as well as a professional guitar player.

◆ My son is as tall as I am.

On the other hand, the structure not as + (adjective / adverb) + as is used to show that two things are not equal.

◆ The test was not as difficult as I thought it would be.

◆ I can’t run as fast as my brother can.

◆ My new house is not as big as my old house.

We can add words such as almost, not quite, twice and half to be more specific when we make comparisons. For example:

◆ The second book in the series was almost as good as the first book.

◆ The seminar was not quite as interesting as I had expected.

◆ Our new office is twice as big as our old office.

Fortunately, the hotel ended up being only half as expensive as we had thought it would be.

It is also common to use words like possible, can and could using the as … as structure.

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英会話イーオン東京本社教務課コーディネーター。イーオン教師のトレーニングや英語セミナーを企画制作するカリスマ教師として活躍中。カリフォルニア大学バークレー校卒業。趣味は読書、料理、クラフトワーク。