Blog about English
Using as...as, not as...as, enough, too and similar structures.
English uses a variety of structures to express equal, greater or lesser degrees of quality.
These structures compare qualities without always using comparative or superlative adjectives.
The structure as...as expresses equality between two people, things or situations.
Examples include as tall as his brother and as interesting as the book.
Not as...as expresses inequality by showing that one thing has a lower degree of a quality.
It is often interchangeable with less...than in meaning.
Too expresses excess, while enough expresses sufficiency.
Compare too difficult to understand with easy enough to understand.
Less and least express lower degrees of quality.
They are commonly used with longer adjectives, such as less expensive and the least complicated.
Adverbs such as very, quite, rather, fairly and extremely modify adjective intensity.
The choice of modifier affects both meaning and style.
These structures express degree together with a resulting consequence.
Examples include so tired that I fell asleep and such a difficult task that nobody finished it.
Enough and too commonly combine with infinitives.
These patterns express whether something is sufficient or excessive for an action.
English offers many ways to strengthen or soften statements about degree.
Expressions such as almost, nearly, virtually and relatively help convey precise meanings.
Formal English uses a variety of lexical expressions to indicate degree.
Examples include significantly higher, marginally lower and substantially different.
The best structure depends on the intended comparison and level of emphasis.
Accurate choice improves precision and naturalness in both speech and writing.
Use equality and degree structures according to their grammatical patterns.
Common mistakes include omitting the second as, confusing too with very, misplacing enough and using incorrect infinitive constructions after too and enough.