as…as

so…as
as...as not so...as
We use as + adjective/adverb + (formal) we use not so + adjective/
as to make comparisons when adverb + as in comparisons to
the things we are comparing say that something or someone
are equal in some way. has less of a particular quality
than another person or thing.
 The world’s biggest bull is
as big as a small elephant. The cycling was good but not


so hard as the cross country

 The weather this summer is skiing we did.
as bad as last year. It hasn’t
The bed was not so
stopped raining for weeks.


comfortable as his own.

 You have to unwrap it as
The idea is not so silly as it

carefully as you can. It’s
sounds.
quite fragile.

In comparisons without ‘not’, we

We use “not as … as” to make use “as ... as” not “so … as”:
comparisons between things
which aren’t equal:
✓Your writing is as bad as mine.
 This bag is not as heavy as
I thought it would be. ✗Your writing is so bad as mine.
 Rory hasn’t grown as tall as
Tommy yet.
“not so … as” is less common
than “not as … as”.