Click on the video if you prefer reading and listening, or just listening:

My students usually find this hard to learn. Well, maybe a miracle will happen and you will find it easy. Don’t get discouraged.

All you need to do is think of lots of examples of your own, and keep practising until you can say a sentence with as… as without breaking your brain. It will happen eventually.

Equally Good, Terrible, Etc.

First we’ll talk about when two things are the same.

In that case I use as… as.

When two things are good, and they are good in the same way, you can say:

McDonalds is as good as Burger King.

Or if you don’t like junk food, you can say:

McDonalds is as terrible as Burger King.

As… as means that some quality about the two things is the same.

So I could also say:

McDonalds is equally good as Burger King. (Equally means =.)

And in the second example I can say:

McDonalds is equally terrible as Burger King.

Got it?

So now I can compare many things with as… as and say that something about them is the same.

Here are some more examples:

My room is as big as your room.

Is the yellow dress as pretty as the blue dress?

Green tea can be as strong as black tea.

Using a laptop is as comfortable as using a computer.

My boyfriend’s food is as tasty as my mother’s food.

The brown of that sofa is as dull as mud.

Are the summers in Kazakhstan as hot as in Greece?

The prices in the new supermarket are as low as in the market.

You can see from the examples that you can use this as … as thing a lot in everyday language.

Where Should You Put As… As?

The first as is before the adjective (good, terrible, etc.) and the second as is after the adjective.

So: as good as

As terrible as

As dark as

As small as

Etc.

Use of Than

When you use as… as, you don’t use than. 

So this is wrong:

McDonalds is as good as than Burger King.

Or: McDonalds is equally good than Burger King.

Feel free to stop for a moment, and think of your own examples. Try to compare restaurants in your area, or shops, or people, or movies, or whatever you like.

Now we’ll talk about when things are not the same.

Not As … As

You guessed, it, when one thing is not as good as the other, or not as terrible, etc., you use not as… as.

Let’s say, I’m a McDonalds fan (I used to be). And I think they’re way better than Burger King. So I can say: Burger King is not as good as McDonalds.

Or when I think the opposite, and I think Burger King is better, than I have to change the order. So I will say: McDonalds is not as good as Burger King. This means that McDonalds is less good.

I can also use terrible or any other adjective that I think is appropriate for this type of statement.

So with terrible:

I think Burger King is more terrible than McDonalds. So I say: McDonalds is not as terrible as Burger King. This means that McDonalds is better (in my opinion).

Or the opposite: I think McDonalds is more terrible than Burger King. So I say: Burger King is not as terrible as McDonalds. This means that Burger King is better.

Hang in there. Don’t get confused now!

Here are some more examples. I’ll try not to confuse you.

The Alps are not as high as the Himalaya, but they’re just as beautiful.

The salad is not as fatty as the cheese.

The movie is not as interesting as the book.

My friend thought the party this year wasn’t as good as the party last year.

Try the spaghetti. It isn’t as spicy as the curry.

If you thought smoking isn’t as bad for you as drinking alcohol, you may be wrong.

The moon doesn’t look as full as the same time last night.

She talked normally to me today. So she wasn’t as angry as I feared.

And now for the bad news…

You can also make sentences with as… as with adverbs, and with much and many and a noun.

That is really going to be too much for one lesson, and with real students I’ve never taught this in one lesson either, because it’s not going to be effective.

So we’ll leave it at this for now, and we’ll get back to those adverbs and much and many later.

Now I recommend that you attempt this quiz:
Quiz

Click here to go to the online quiz.  

 

Found this difficult?

Maybe you’d like to learn more about adjectives and comparisons?

Have a look here.

Parts of Speech: The Adjective

Easy Explanation about Adjectives

Adjectives with -ing and with -ed

Comparisons for Beginners

Like, Similar and Both: Comparisons

Still have questions about the subject of this post? Let me know in a comment or send me a message.