Page 226 - English Grammar in Use

Unit
107 Comparative 3 (as … as / than)

A Study this example situation:
Sarah, Joe and David are all very rich.
Sarah has $20 million, Joe has $15 million
and David has $10 million. So:
Joe is rich.
He is richer than David.

But he isn’t as rich as Sarah.
(= Sarah is richer than he is)
SARAH JOE DAVID

Some more examples of not as … (as):
Jack isn’t as old as he looks. (= he looks older than he is)
The town centre wasn’t as crowded as usual. (= it is usually more crowded)
Lisa didn’t do as well in the exam as she had hoped. (= she had hoped to do better)
The weather is better today. It’s not as cold. (= yesterday was colder than today)
I don’t know as many people as you do. (= you know more people than me)

‘How much was it? Fifty dollars?’ ‘No, not as much as that.’ (= less than fifty dollars)

You can also say not so … (as):
It’s not warm, but it’s not so cold as yesterday. (= it’s not as cold as …)
Less than is similar to not as … as:
I spent less money than you. (= I didn’t spend as much money as you)
The city centre was less crowded than usual. (= it wasn’t as crowded as usual)
I play tennis less than I used to. (= I don’t play as much as I used to)

B We also use as … as (but not so … as) in positive sentences and in questions:
I’m sorry I’m late. I got here as fast as I could.
There’s plenty of food. You can have as much as you want.
Can you send me the information as soon as possible, please?
Let’s walk. It’s just as quick as taking the bus.

also twice as … as, three times as … as etc. :
Petrol is twice as expensive as it was a few years ago.
Their house is about three times as big as ours.
(or … three times the size of ours)

C We say the same as (not the same like):
Laura’s salary is the same as mine. or Laura gets the same salary as me.
David is the same age as James.
Sarah hasn’t changed. She still looks the same as she did ten years ago.

D than me / than I am etc.
You can say:
You’re taller than me. or You’re taller than I am.
(not usually You’re taller than I)
He’s not as clever as her. or He’s not as clever as she is.
They have more money than us. or They have more money than we have.
I can’t run as fast as him. or I can’t run as fast as he can.

214 Comparative 1–2 ➜ Units 105–106 as long as ➜ Unit 115B as and like ➜ Unit 117