We useas +adjective/adverb+ asto make comparisons when the things we are comparing are equal in some way:
The world’s biggest bull isas big asa small elephant.
The weather this summer isas bad aslast year. It hasn’t stopped raining for weeks.
You have to unwrap itas carefully asyou can. It’s quite fragile.
See also:
Comparison: adjectives (bigger,biggest,more interesting)
Not as… as
We usenot as … asto make comparisons between things which aren’t equal:
It’snot as heavy asI thought it would be, actually.
Rory hasn’tgrownas tall asTommy yet.
She’snotsingingas loudly asshe can.
They didn’tplayas well asthey usually do.
We can modifynotas … asby usingnot quite asornot nearly as:
The second race wasnot quite as easy asthe first one.(The second race was easy but the first one was easier.)
These new shoes arenot nearly as comfortable asmy old ones.(My old shoes are a lot more comfortable than these new shoes.)
We can also usenot so … as. Not so … asis less common thannot as … as:
The cycling was good butnot so hard asthe cross country skiing we did.
As … as+ possibility
We often use expressions of possibility or ability afteras … as:
Can you comeas soon as possible?
Go toas many places as you can.
We got hereas fast as we could.
As much as,as many as
When we want to make comparisons referring to quantity, we useas much aswith uncountable nouns andas many aswith plural nouns:
Greg makesas much money asMick butnot as much asNeil.
They try to give themas much freedom asthey can.
There weren’tas many peoplethereasI expected.
We can useas much asandas many asbefore a number to refer to a large number of something:
Scientists have discovered a planet which weighsas much as 2,500times the weight of Earth.
There wereas many as 50people crowded into the tiny room.
See also:
Also,as wellortoo?
Comparison: adjectives (bigger,biggest,more interesting)