as early as VS as soon as

[dervast]

Greetings everyone.
I am trying to track down the differences and similarities between as early as and as soon as.

Similarities:
They can express sometimes the same meaning:
let's do this as early /as soon as possible.

Differences:
If I am right one difference is that as soon as can be used with a past tense "As soon as he left... "

Could you please help me expand this list?

Best Regards
Alex

 

[2006]

Greetings everyone.
I am trying to track down the differences and similarities between 'as early as' and 'as soon as'. You should somehow mark the phrases you are asking about.

Similarities:
They can sometimes express the same meaning:
Let's do this as early /as soon as possible. They can be the same, but "early" can be used to indicate early in the day, for example 7 a.m. instead of 9 a.m.

Differences:
If I am right, one difference is that 'as soon as' can be used with a past tense? "As soon as he left... "
'as early as' can also be used with past tense.
'As early as he left, he still arrrived late.'


Best Regards
Alex

2006