Parallel structures

[High on grammar]

Dear English Teacher:
Which of the following is(are) correct?

A."Mike’s teacher was angry not so much that he broke the window as that he lied about it"



B. Mike’s teacher was angry not so much when he broke the window as when he lied about it"

C."Mike’s teacher was as angry when he broke the window as when he lied about it”.


D“Mike’s teacher was less angry when he broke the window than when he lied about it”.



E."Mike’s teacher was angry not so much that he broke the window as that when he lied about it"


F.“Mike’s teacher was angry not so much that when he broke the window as that when he lied about it"


Thanks

[emsr2d2]

Dear English Teacher:
Which of the following is(are) correct?

A."Mike’s teacher was angry not so much that he broke the window as that he lied about it"

B. Mike’s teacher was angry not so much when he broke the window as when he lied about it"

C."Mike’s teacher was as angry when he broke the window as when he lied about it”.

D“Mike’s teacher was less angry when he broke the window than when he lied about it”.

E."Mike’s teacher was angry not so much that he broke the window as that when he lied about it"

F.“Mike’s teacher was angry not so much that when he broke the window as that when he lied about it"


Thanks

A, B, E, F are completely unnatural. I cannot think of any way to start a natural sentence with "Mike's teacher was angry not so much that ..."

C and D are both possible. In both cases though, I have no idea whether "he" (who broke the window and lied about it) refers to Mike or to his teacher.

[nelson13]

A."Mike’s teacher was angry not so much that he broke the window as that he lied about it"

E."Mike’s teacher was angry not so much that he broke the window as that when he lied about it"

I can't understand why the two parts in sentence E don't run parallel to each other.

For sentence A, I think it is correct. In this case THAT means BECAUSE, and this usage seems not to be as commonly used nowadays as one or two centuries ago. A modern usage of it retained is 'I did this, not that it..., but that it...'

[emsr2d2]

The only way I can make E natural is:


Mike's teacher was angry - not so much that Mike had broken the window but that he had lied about it.

That is similar in construction to A. The main issue with all of them is that there needs to be a natural break after "Mike's teacher was angry". I have used a dash. At the very least it requires a comma.

[High on grammar]

A few of his accusers were upset not so much that bribes were expected as that they hadn't worked.
The King's Bench: Bailiwick Magistrates and Local Governance in ... - Page 88

Correlative Conjunctions: A Writer's Guide
Not so much...as. Faulty: "Joe's parents were upset not so much that he broke the vase as at his lying about it." Not so much is followed by a clause, but as is followed by a prepositional phrase. Possible solutions: "Joe's parents were upset not so much that he broke the vase as that he lied about it" (two parallel clauses) or "Joe's parents were upset not so much at his breaking the vase as at his lying about it" (two parallel prepositional phrases).

[bhaisahab]

A few of his accusers were upset not so much that bribes were expected as that they hadn't worked.
The King's Bench: Bailiwick Magistrates and Local Governance in ... - Page 88

Correlative Conjunctions: A Writer's Guide
Not so much...as. Faulty: "Joe's parents were upset not so much that he broke the vase as at his lying about it." Not so much is followed by a clause, but as is followed by a prepositional phrase. Possible solutions: "Joe's parents were upset not so much that he broke the vase as that he lied about it" (two parallel clauses) or "Joe's parents were upset not so much at his breaking the vase as at his lying about it" (two parallel prepositional phrases).

What point are you trying to make by posting this?

[High on grammar]

this is an example of the construction that I asked about and that I found on googlebooks. One one hand I am being told that this form is unnatural and on the other I find examples of it in grammar guides and also in print. I would like to know which is right. I am here to improve my English, after all.

Thanks

[5jj]

Ems wrote, "I cannot think of any way to start a natural sentence with "Mike's teacher was angry not so much that ...". There are no citations in the British National Corpus for adj + not so much that, and only one in the Corpus of Contemporary American English. This is clearly a very rare construction; many would consider it unnatural.

Incidentally, if you quote from a book, please credit your source.

[High on grammar]

Ems wrote, "I cannot think of any way to start a natural sentence with "Mike's teacher was angry not so much that ...". There are no citations in the British National Corpus for adj + not so much that, and only one in the Corpus of Contemporary American English. This is clearly a very rare construction; many would consider it unnatural.

Incidentally, if you quote from a book, please credit your source.

Could you please tell me how I can use "the the British National Corpus". The last time I went to that Site it didn't allow me to check a sentence pattern. All I could do was look up simple words, that's all.
Thanks

[5jj]

Incidentally, if you quote from a book, please credit your source.

I've found it :
Bernstein, Theodore, The Careful Writer, a style guide published some fifty years ago.