Community Web Version Now Available
Sabrina
What does this word mean?
"Other parts of the cosmos may contain beings as superior to ourselves as we are to jelly fish."
Here, what does the two "as"mean?
In my opinion, the second means "like",right? What about the first one?
Mar 16, 2011 2:23 AM
3
0
Answers · 3
as good as
as bad as
as superior as
This is a standard English expression. Everyone knows it.
March 16, 2011
The as...as construction is used for comparisons of equality. For example, one could say, "He is as big as I am." It is incorrect to use "like" in these examples because "like" is a preposition and therefore should be followed by an object, not an independent clause. Nevertheless, a LOT of native English speakers use "like" in this way. The correct way to use "like" in my example above would be "He is big like me."
March 16, 2011
It's a standard "as .. as .." conjunction but extended a little.
To understand, you may change it to:
Other parts of the cosmos may contain beings that are superior to ourselves like we are superior to jelly fish.
March 16, 2011
