Comparison: AS – AS Practice Tests with A2 Grammar Rules & Examples

Comparison: AS … AS

We use as … as to compare two people, animals, or things that are equal or the same in some way. It tells us that one thing has the same quality or amount as another thing.

Look at this simple example:

Tom is 1.80 metres tall. Sara is also 1.80 metres tall.
Tom is as tall as Sara.

This means Tom and Sara have the same height. Neither one is taller. They are equal.

We also use not as … as to show that two things are not equal — one has less of a quality than the other.

A cat is smaller than a dog.
A cat is not as big as a dog.

In this lesson, you will learn how to build these sentences step by step.

How to Build an AS … AS Sentence

The structure is simple. Look at the pattern:

Subject + verb + as + adjective + as + person/thing

Here are the parts explained:

• Subject — the person or thing you are talking about (e.g. My bag, He, The coffee)
• Verb — usually is, are, was, were or another verb like runs, works
• as — the first "as" comes directly before the adjective
• Adjective — a describing word (e.g. tall, fast, cheap, cold, good)
• as — the second "as" comes after the adjective
• Person / Thing — the second thing you are comparing to

Let's see a few examples:

My room is as big as your room.
This jacket is as expensive as that one.
Lucy is as friendly as her sister.

Positive AS … AS (Things Are Equal)

We use as + adjective + as (positive form) when two things are the same.

Imagine two friends, Ben and Max. Ben is 25 years old. Max is also 25 years old.
We can say: Ben is as old as Max.

More examples:

Sentence with AS … AS	Meaning
My coffee is as hot as your coffee.	Both coffees have the same temperature.
She is as tall as her mother.	They have the same height.
This film is as good as the book.	Both are equally good.
The blue car is as fast as the red car.	Both cars go the same speed.
My bag is as heavy as yours.	Both bags weigh the same.
January is as cold as February.	Both months are equally cold.

Negative NOT AS … AS (Things Are NOT Equal)

We use not as + adjective + as (negative form) when two things are different — and one has less of that quality.

Pattern: Subject + verb + not + as + adjective + as + person/thing

Imagine two dogs. Rocky weighs 30 kg. Tiny weighs 10 kg.
We can say: Tiny is not as heavy as Rocky.
(This means Rocky is heavier. Tiny has less of the quality "heavy".)

More examples:

Sentence with NOT AS … AS	Meaning
My phone is not as new as her phone.	Her phone is newer.
This hotel is not as cheap as the other one.	The other hotel costs less.
He is not as tall as his brother.	His brother is taller.
Today is not as sunny as yesterday.	Yesterday was sunnier.
The soup is not as hot as the tea.	The tea is hotter.
My English is not as good as my teacher's.	My teacher's English is better.

AS … AS with Different Verbs

We often use as … as with the verb to be (is, are, was, were), but we can also use it with other verbs to talk about actions.

Pattern with action verbs: Subject + verb + as + adverb + as + person/thing

Note: An adverb describes a verb — it tells us how something is done. For example: quickly, slowly, loudly, well, hard.

Examples:

Sentence	Meaning
She runs as fast as her brother.	They run at the same speed.
He doesn't work as hard as Maria.	Maria works harder.
I speak English as well as my friend.	We both speak English at the same level.
The baby doesn't sleep as much as before.	The baby slept more before.

At A2 level, the most common and useful structure is as + adjective + as with the verb to be. Focus on this first!

Common Adjectives Used with AS … AS

Here is a list of common adjectives you can use in as … as sentences:

Adjective	Example Sentence
big	My flat is as big as yours.
small	This room is not as small as that one.
tall	Anna is as tall as her father.
old	This church is as old as the castle.
young	She is not as young as she looks.
fast	My car is as fast as his.
slow	The bus is not as slow as the train.
expensive	This coat is as expensive as the jacket.
cheap	This shop is not as cheap as the market.
good	The second film is as good as the first.
bad	Monday is not as bad as I thought.
hot	Today is as hot as yesterday.
cold	This room is not as cold as the kitchen.
difficult	The test is not as difficult as the homework.
easy	Lesson 2 is as easy as Lesson 1.

Important Differences and Special Cases

AS … AS vs Comparative Adjectives (e.g. taller, bigger)

Students sometimes confuse as … as with comparative adjectives (e.g. taller than, bigger than, more expensive than). They have different meanings.

Structure	Meaning	Example
as + adjective + as	Equal — the same amount	Tom is as tall as Sara. (same height)
adjective + -er + than	One is more than the other	Tom is taller than Sara. (Tom has more height)
not as + adjective + as	One has less of the quality	Sara is not as tall as Tom. (Sara has less height)

Notice that not as tall as and shorter than have a very similar meaning. Both tell us one person has less height.

What Word Goes Between AS and AS?

Always put the adjective (or adverb) between the two words as. Never put a noun (a thing word) there.

✅ She is as kind as her mother. (kind = adjective ✓)
❌ She is as a teacher as her mother. (a teacher = noun ✗)

Pronoun After the Second AS

In formal English, we use subject pronouns (I, he, she, we, they) after the second as. In everyday spoken English, object pronouns (me, him, her, us, them) are also very common and acceptable.

Formal (written): She is as tall as I am.
Everyday (spoken): She is as tall as me.

At A2 level, both are fine. The important thing is to use the structure correctly.

Common Mistakes

Here are the most common mistakes learners make with as … as:

❌ She is as tall that her brother.
✅ She is as tall as her brother.
Always use "as … as" — not "as … that".

❌ He is more fast as me.
✅ He is as fast as me.
Don't mix "more … than" with "as … as". Choose one structure.

❌ This bag is as expensive that bag.
✅ This bag is as expensive as that bag.
You need both "as" words — one before the adjective and one after.

❌ My car is as the same fast as yours.
✅ My car is as fast as yours.
Do not add "the same" inside the "as … as" structure.

❌ He is not as taller as his brother.
✅ He is not as tall as his brother.
Use the normal adjective (tall), not the comparative form (taller) with "as … as".

❌ Paris is as a big city as London.
✅ Paris is as big as London.
Put just the adjective between the two "as" words. Do not add "a city" or other nouns here.

Quick Reference: AS … AS Patterns

Form	Pattern	Example
Positive (equal)	as + adjective + as	She is as clever as her brother.
Negative (not equal)	not as + adjective + as	She is not as clever as her brother.
Question	Is / Are … as + adjective + as …?	Is this hotel as cheap as the last one?
With action verbs	verb + as + adverb + as	He doesn't run as fast as his friend.

Comparison AS … AS: Quick Summary

• Use as + adjective + as to say two things are equal or the same.
• Use not as + adjective + as to say two things are different and one has less of a quality.
• Always put the adjective between the two as words — not a noun, not a comparative form.
• You need both "as" words. Never drop one of them.
• Do not use "as … that" or "more … as". Only use as … as.
• This structure works with many common adjectives: big, old, fast, cheap, good, cold, and many more.

Now practise Comparison: AS … AS in the exercises below.