by R. S. Karunaratne

How to use as ... as?

We use as ...as? to say that people and things are the same in some way.
He is as tall as his grandfather.

Your house is three times as big as mine.

The water in the swimming pool is as cold as ice.
My hair is as black as yours.
You are not as old as I am.
Amandas hands are as small as Jayanis.
His daughter is as fair as her mother.
My sister is as slim as her best friend.
Your skirt is as long as mine.
His school bag is as big as hers.
This box is as heavy as yours.
Her house is as big as mine.

In informal spoken English, we usually use a different construction.
You are as tall as me.
She is as slim as me.
Janes sister is as pretty as her.
They are as rich as us.
We are as poor as them.
I am as shy as you.

We use not as ... as? to say that people and things are not the same in some way.
Mayas hair isnt as long as Renus.
I am not as tall as my father.
Mother isnt as old as her sister.
You arent as fat as your mother.
Her skirt isnt as long as mine.
His bag isnt as big as hers.
This box isnt as heavy as yours.
Jane isnt as pretty as her sister.
Janes sister isnt as pretty as she is.
You arent as nice as other doctors.
The secretary isnt as courteous as her boss.

Your skirt is as long as mine

He isnt as careful as his father.

We use just, not quite, half, twice? and three times? before as ... as?.
Youre just as pretty as your sister.
My handwriting isnt quite as nice as yours.
Brazil is half as big as Russia.
Your house is three times as big as mine.
You are nearly as tall as your grandfather.
Im not quite as good looking as you.
Youre just as old as your friend.
You draw as twice as my salary.

We use as much as? and ?as many as? with nouns.
Sam doesnt work as many hours as I do.
She makes as much money as her husband.
The rich have twice as much money as the poor.
Rex has twice as many friends as Lionel.
Rosanne eats three times as many sandwiches as her sister.
Roger has nearly as many books on astronomy as Brian.
I drink twice as many cups of tea a day as you.
Krishanthi doesnt have as much free time as Nayana.

Match words and meanings

Heres an exciting way to enrich your vocabulary. Match the words in column ?A? with their meanings in column ?B? and check your answers with the key. The first has been done for you.

[Column A]
Y 1. dive
.. 2. diverse
.. 3. divert
.. 4. divest
.. 5. divide
.. 6. dividend
.. 7. divination
.. 8. divine
.. 9. divinity
..10. divisible
..11. divisional
..12. divorce
..13. divorcee
..14. divulge
..15. dizzy
..16. docile
..17. docker
..18. dockyard
..19. doctorate
..20. doctrine
..21. doddery
..22. dodge
..23. dodger
..24. dodgy
..25. doe

[Column B]
A. varied or different
B. to separate into parts
C. the profit of a company paid to shareholders
D. the state of being a god
E. relating to a division
F. feeling as if everything is turning round
G. quiet and easy to control
H. a place where ships are built and repaired
I. a belief or set of beliefs, especially political or religious
J. to avoid being hit by something by moving quickly to one side
K. dishonest
L. the female of the deer
M. someone who avoids doing what they should do
N. weak and unable to walk in a normal way
O. the highest degree from a university
P. someone who works at a port
Q. to make something secret known
R. someone who is divorced
S. when marriage is ended by a legal process
T. that can be divided by another number
U. connected with a god
V. the act of saying what will happen in the future
W. to sell a business
X. to cause something to change direction
Y. to jump into water

Key:

2. A 3. X 4. W 5. B 6. C 7. V 8. U 9. D 10. T 11. E 12. S 13. R 14. Q 15. F 16. G 17. P 18. H 19. O 20. I 21. N 22. J 23. M 24. K 25. L

Starters:

How to use ?too? and ?enough?

As an adverb ?too? means ?more than is needed or wanted.? It goes before an adjective or adverb.

Swarna is too fat.
I can't pluck the mango. It's too high.
There are too many passengers on the bus.

I can't pluck the mango. It's too high.

Nibbana is too difficult to explain.
She didn't buy the sari. It's too expensive. ?

Too? can mean ?also.?
A: I'd love to watch this film.
B: Me too.

?Too? can mean ?very.?
He wasn't too happy when I pointed out his mistakes.
Grandmother hasn't been too well recently.
Mary didn't want to marry Sam. She thinks he is too old.
He climbed the ladder of success too slowly.

Other structures with ?too?
This lesson is too difficult for children.

When something is too good to be true, it is hard to believe.
His salary scale sounds too good to be true.
His offer sounded too good to be true.

Enough
Enough? means as much as is necessary.?
Is there enough ice cream to go round?
I have Rs 500. That should be enough for the journey.
I have had enough. (to eat or drink)
I know enough about this subject.
Father is tall enough to change the bulb in the bathroom.

?Enough? can mean ?more than is wanted.?
I've got enough work to do today.
Half an hour in the bathroom is quite enough!
He has eaten more than enough.
I've heard enough now, Don't tell me anything more.

?Enough? goes after an adjective or adverb.
The drink is not cool enough.
The coffee isn't strong enough.

?Enough? goes before a noun.
Have you got enough exercise books?
I haven't brought enough money.
You haven't put enough milk into my cup of tea.
Have we got enough plates for everyone?

Other structures with ?enough?
Enough is enough. I don't wish to argue with you any more.
I have had enough. (You want something to stop because it is annoying you.)
That's enough, give the bat to your brother.

Note the word order when ?enough? is used with an adjective. It always goes directly after the adjective.

He was brave enough to challenge the champion.
Are you healthy enough to go back to work?
Be kind enough to reply my letter.
I hope my instructions are clear enough.
The questions weren't difficult enough.
The coffee isn't sweet enough.
Your handwriting is not clear enough.

Quiz on idioms

An idiom is a special kind of phrase. It is a group of words which have a different meaning when used together from the one it would have if the meaning of each word were taken individually. Tick the meaning of the following idioms and check your answers with the key.

1. If someone throws you to the dogs ...
(a) they allow you to be criticised severely
(b) they allow you to be praised profusely
(c) they allow you to be bitten by the dogs

2. If an economy is in the doldrums ...
(a) economy is beginning to improve
(b) economy is improving
(c) nothing new is happening

3. If someone is in the doldrums ...
(a) they are very happy
(b) they are very depressed
(c) they are confused

4. If you bet your bottom dollar ...
(a) you are certain that something will happen
(b) you are not certain that something will happen
(c) you are unaware of what is happening

5. The 64,000 dollar question ...
(a) the answer for a question which will bring you a fortune
(b) a question easy to answer
(c) an important question difficult to answer

6. If someone looks a million dollars ...
(a) they look extremely attractive
(b) they look extremely rich
(c) they look very depressed

7. If something has been happening for donkey's years ...
(a) it has never happened
(b) it has been happening very irregularly
(c) it has been happening for a very long time

8. If someone does the donkey work ...
(a) they do the most enjoyable job
(b) they do the most physically tiring job
(c) they do the work of others

9. As one door closes, another one opens ...
(a) if one thing you do fails, you will succeed at something else
(b) you will try different things at the same time
(c) you do not know which offer to accept

10. If someone does something through the back door ...
(a) they do it wisely
(b) they do it openly
(c) they do it secretly

Key:

1. (a) 2. (c) 3. (b) 4. (a) 5. (c) 6. (a) 7. (c) 8. (b) 9. (a) 10. (c)