Is this structure correct?


He is as active as brave.

asked May 31 '13 at 16:31 Z. A. Jazley Expert

2 answers


To my knowledge, yes; it is.  The usual phrase may be 'he is as active as he is brave', but, if you want to truncate it, I see no problem.


The first 'as' is an adverb (with the same meaning as 'thus' and 'so') and the second is a conjunction (which is used similarly to 'and').  Another phrase may be 'he is active and brave'; in your example, the conjunctive 'as' replaces 'and', whereupon it creates a comparison, with help from the adverbial 'as'.


Without the first 'as', the phrase is still grammatically correct, but its intelligibility may suffer.

link answered May 31 '13 at 18:53 Geoffrey Contributor

Thanks a lot. Your answer is helpful.

Z. A. JazleyJun 01 '13 at 04:00

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I think the example actually uses two adverbs, incorrectly. If the second were a subordinating conjunction, one would expect a dependent clause, and hence the addition 'as he is brave'. If this is not the intention, the construction may be better by using an adverb such as 'equally' and joining the two adjectives with the coordinating conjunction 'and' to create a parallel structure. 'He is equally active and brave.' If 'as' needs to be used before the second adjective, it is better to see it as a subordinating conjunction and insert a dependent clause: 'He is as active as he is brave.'

link comment answered Jun 01 '13 at 03:48 Ahmad Barnard Expert

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