Equality and Inequality Comparisons

1. What Are Equality and Inequality Comparisons?

We use as … as and not as … as to compare two people/things (and sometimes actions).

• as … as = things are the same
• not as … as = things are the not the same

This is another way to compare, here we focus on equal or not equal

• John is tall. Mike is tall. → John is as tall as Mike. (same)
• John is tall. Mike is short. → Mike is not as tall as John. (less)

2. As … as (Equality)

Structure: as + adjective + as
Meaning: two things are the same

Examples:

• tall → as tall as
• fast → as fast as
• expensive → as expensive as

Sentences:

• John is as tall as Mike.
• This car is as fast as that car.
• The hotel is as expensive as that hotel.

3. Not as … as (Inequality)

Structure: not as + adjective + as
Meaning: the first person/thing has less of this quality (≈ 'smaller/shorter/slower than').

Examples:

• tall → not as tall as
• fast → not as fast as
• big → not as big as

Sentences:

• Mike is not as tall as John.
• This car is not as fast as that car.
• The room is not as big as the house.

4. Using Adverbs

Use an adjective after be (She is as fast as her brother). Use an adverb after an action verb (She runs as fast as her brother).

We can also use as … as with adverbs.
Structure: as + adverb + as

Examples:

• fast → as fast as
• well → as well as

Sentences:

• She runs as fast as her brother.
• He speaks English as well as his teacher.

We can also use not as … as with adverbs: 'He doesn’t speak English as well as his teacher.'

5. Word Order (Very Important)

Correct structure:

• as + adjective/adverb + as
• not as + adjective/adverb + as

Examples:

• She is as tall as her sister.
• He is not as strong as his friend.
• She runs as fast as he does.

6. Common Examples

• This book is as interesting as that one.
• My phone is not as good as yours.
• Today is as cold as yesterday.
• This test is not as difficult as the last one.

7. Easy Tip to Remember

as … as = same

not as … as = different