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Comparison: comparisons of equality (as tall as his father)

As … as …​

If two things are equal in some way, we can use a comparison with as … as …. The comparisons may involve adjectives (adj) or adverbs (adv) after the first as, and noun phrases (np) or clauses after the second as:

  • He’s grown so much. He’s as tall as his father now. (adj + noun phrase)
  • The team is still as good as it was five years ago*.* (adj + clause)
  • The second game didn’t go as well as the first one*.* (adv + noun phrase)
  • The company is not performing as successfully as it did when Arthur Carling was the President*.* (adv + clause)

When the second part of the comparison is a clause, the clause is often a reduced clause (a clause with ellipsis) or one with a substitute verb do or a modal verb:

  • If the sales figures are as bad as predicted, the company will probably go bankrupt.

  • (…as bad as economists have predicted…)

  • I worked as hard as I had ever done in my life for my final exam.

  • (…as hard as I had ever worked in my life …)

  • We tried as hard as we could.

See also
  • Ellipsis
  • Substitution

Noun phrases​

If we use as … as … with a noun phrase, we must use much or little + uncountable noun or many or few + plural noun:

  • She had as much work as she needed and did not want to take on any more.
  • There are as many students in Class 2A as there are in 2B.
  • He spent as little money as he could.

Negative forms​

We can form the negative of as … as … with not as … as …, or with not so … as … The form not as … as … is more common:

  • He didn’t run as fast as he did in the European Championship.
  • He didn’t pay as much tax this year as last year because he earned less.
  • She’s not so shy as she used to be. (less common)
  • I don’t read so many novels now as I used to. (less common)