as ~ as ...

비교하는 두 대상이 어떤 점에서 동등하다고 표현할 때 'as +형용사 / 부사 + as'를 사용한다:

• The world’s biggest bull is as big as a small elephant.
• The weather this summer is as bad as last year. It hasn’t stopped raining for weeks.
• You have to unwrap it as carefully as you can. It’s quite fragile.

 

비교하는 두 대상이 동등하지 않다고 표현할 때 'not as ... as'를 사용한다:

• It’s not as heavy as I thought it would be, actually.
• Rory hasn’t grown as tall as Tommy yet.
• She’s not singing as loudly as she can.
• They didn’t play as well as they usually do.

 

'Not quite as' 혹은 'not nearly as'를 사용해서 'not as ... as' 의미를 강조할 수 있다:

• The second race was not quite as easy as the first one. (The second race was easy but the first one was easier.)
• These new shoes are not nearly as comfortable as my old ones. (My old shoes are a lot more comfortable than these new shoes.)

 

'Not as ... as' 대신에 'not so ... as' 표현도 가능하지만 'not as ... as'가 흔한 표현이다:

• The cycling was good but not so hard as the cross country skiing we did.

 

As ... as + possibility

가능성 혹은 능력의 의미를 'as .. as' 뒤에 사용할 수 있다:

• Can you come as soon as possible?
• Go to as many places as you can.
• We got here as fast as we could.

 

As many as, as much as

수 / 양의 개념을 표현할 때 'As many + 복수 명사 as' 혹은 'as much + 셀 수 없는 명사 as'를 사용한다: 

• Greg makes as much money as Mick but not as much as Neil.
• They try to give them as much freedom as they can.
• There weren’t as many people there as I expected.

 

다수의 무언가를 표현할 때 'as many / much as + 다수'를 사용한다:

• Scientists have discovered a planet which weighs as much as 2,500 times the weight of Earth.
• There were as many as 50 people crowded into the tiny room.