Exploring the structure of As ... as in English with accompanying exercises

1. What is the As ... as structure?

The As ... as structure in English means 'like/as,' often used to compare one object/person/phenomenon with another object/person/phenomenon in a specific context.

Eg: 

• Anna’s house is as old as Tom’s house. (Nhà của Anna cũng cũ như nhà của Tom).
• I am as tall as my mother. (Tôi cao như mẹ của tôi).

2. Popular As ... as Structures

2.1. As ... as in Comparison

Cấu trúc As … as trong so sánh được sử dụng khi ta muốn so sánh hai yếu tố ngang bằng nhau, với cấu trúc sau.

E.g.:

• She is as tall as her brother. (Cô ấy cao bằng anh trai mình.)
• Peter runs as fast as Anna. (Peter chạy nhanh như Anna.)

Cấu trúc As … as trong so sánh còn được sử dụng khi ta muốn so sánh hai yếu tố không ngang bằng nhau, với cấu trúc sau.

E.g.: He didn’t swim as well as he often does. (Anh ấy đã bơi không giỏi như mọi hôm.)

In negative sentences, the first As in the structure can be replaced by So.

E.g.: I can’t ever reach that level. I’m not so smart as the students of that school. (Tôi không bao giờ có thể đạt đến trình độ đó. Tôi không quá thông minh như học sinh của trường đó.)

2.2. As ... as with other phrases

As far as structure (according to)

E.g.:

• As far as I know, Khánh is the youngest staff at this company. (Theo tôi biết, Khánh là nhân viên trẻ nhất tại công ty này.)
• As far as Linn can see, she has done nothing wrong. (Theo quan điểm của Linn, cô ấy đã không làm điều gì sai trái.)

As long as structure (as long as, only need to)

As long as can be at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. When As long as is at the beginning of a sentence, the two clauses will be separated by a comma; in the case of As long as in the middle of a sentence, we do not need a comma.

E.g.:

• As long as I’m patient, I will gain success soon. (Chỉ cần tôi kiên nhẫn, tôi sẽ sớm gặt hái được thành công.)
• The students were very serious as long as the teacher was in class. (Các học sinh rất nghiêm túc miễn là giáo viên ở trong lớp.)

As early as structure (from, earliest)

E.g.:

• As early as the first time she meets Mike, she loved him. (Ngay từ lần đầu tiên cô gặp Mike, cô đã yêu anh ta.)
• We may announce the winners as early as tomorrow. (Chúng ta có thể công bố những người chiến thắng sớm nhất vào ngày mai.)

As well as structure (not only ... but also)

E.g.:

• Mike is good at studying as well as friendly. (Mike không những học giỏi mà còn thân thiện nữa.)
• My classmates, as well as I , are very happy when our teacher recovers from illness. (Tôi, cũng như các bạn trong lớp, rất vui mừng khi Mytour giáo khỏi bệnh.)

As good as structure (almost)

E.g.: The decorating is almost finished – I just need to finish off the painting. (The decorating is almost finished – I just need to finish off the painting.)

Note that, to compare 'as well as' or 'not only... but also,' we use As well as; for 'almost,' we use As good as

As much as structure (just that much, the most)

E.g.: She exercises as much as she can. (She exercises as much as she can.)

As soon as structure (two actions happening sequentially)

As soon as can be at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. When As soon as is at the beginning of a sentence, the two clauses will be separated by a comma; in the case of As soon as in the middle of a sentence, we do not need a comma.

E.g.:

• Ben checks his phone for messages as soon as he wakes up. (Ben kiểm tra điện thoại ngay khi vừa thức dậy.)
• I felt better as soon as I drank a cup of chocolate. (Tôi cảm thấy thoải mái hơn ngay sau khi được uống một cốc sô-cô-la.)
• As soon as it stops raining, Mary will go to the store. (Ngay khi trời tạnh mưa, Mary sẽ đến cửa hàng.)

3. Synonymous phrases with As as structure

Besides the As as structure, you can use some synonymous phrases with As as structure such as:

Same /seɪm/: giống như, như nhau

E.g: Both I and my younger sister study in the same school. (Both I and my younger sister study in the same school.)

Like /laɪk/: như là, giống nhau

E.g: Similar to Tom’s idea, I will also support this project. (Similar to Tom’s idea, I will also support this project.)

Similar /ˈsɪm.ə.lɚ/: tương tự, tương đồng

E.g: These two watches have a similar value. (These two watches have a similar value.)

Alike /əˈlaɪk/: như nhau

E.g: These two people have a similar personality. (These two people have a similar personality.)

As if/as though: cứ như là, như thể là

E.g: She appears to be in a hurry. (She appears to be in a hurry.)

Equal /ˈiː.kwəl/: bằng nhau

E.g: The score between the two teams is the same. (The score between the two teams is the same.)

Equivalent /ɪˈkwɪv.əl.ənt/: tương đương

E.g: The two tests are of equal difficulty. (The two tests are of equal difficulty.)

4. Exercises with As ... as structure

4.1. Exercise

Bài tập 1: Use either “as … as” or “not as … as” in the sentences below.

1. The blue car is ___________ the red car. (fast)
2. Grapefruit juice is  ___________ lemonade. (not/sweet)
3. Phillip is  ___________ Lam. (not/tall)
4. The violin is  ___________ the cello. (not/low)
5. This copy is  ___________ the other one. (bad)
6. Mark is  ___________ Jim. (optimistic)
7. Today it’s  ___________ yesterday. (not/hot)
8. The chicken soup was  ___________ the pork soup. (delicious)
9. Silver is  ___________ gold. (not/heavy)
10. Fred is  ___________ Quang. (brave)
11. John is (tall) ___________ as tall as Glen.
12. We can run (fast) ___________  they can.
13. My mom is (not / strict) ___________  your mom.
14. Your mobile phone is (not / trendy) ___________  mine.
15. This yoghurt (not / taste / good) ___________  the one I bought yesterday.

Bài tập 2: Choose the correct answer

1. You may have ice cream ___________ you eat all vegetables

• As well as
• As much as
• As long as
• As far as

1. Please reply my email ___________ possible.

• As long as
• As soon as

• As far as
• As well as

1. ___________ I know the movie has got excellent reviews from the film critics.

• As far as
• As well as
• As far as
• As soon as

1. Thomas is clever___________ handsome.

• As far as
• As soon as
• As well as
• As long as

1. He earns ___________ his wife does.

• As well as
• As much as
• As long as
• As far as

1. Alain has done a lot of mistakes. His career is ___________  over.

• As good as
• As soon as

• As far as
• As well as

1. Mr. Smith isn’t ___________ he looks.

• As far as
• As well as
• As far as
• As old as

1. ___________ the 1870s, songs were written about smuggling.

• As far as
• As soon as
• As early as
• As long as

4.2. Answer

Bài tập 1:

1. as fast as
2. not as sweet as
3. not as tall as
4. not as low as
5. as bad as
6. as optimistic as
7. not as hot as
8. as delicious as
9. not as heavy as
10. as brave as
11. as tall as
12. as fast as
13. not as strict as
14. not as trendy as
15. tastes not as good as

1. As long as
2. As soon as
3. As far as
4. As well as
5. As much as
6. As good as
7. As old as
8. As early as