[Grammar] This is the closest to the station we can get by bicycle

[kadioguy]

a. This is the closest to the station we can get by bicycle.
b. This is the closest to the station we can get to by bicycle.

A cyber-pal told me that (a) is correct, and in fact means (b). If so, in what situations can we omit the "to" in "get to ..." and still make the sentece grammatical?

 

[jutfrank]

Sentence b. is incorrect. There's no need to repeat to. It's already there in to the station. Think: get close to the station

Compare it with a structure like this:

It's a difficult place to get to by bicycle.

Think: get to a place

 

[kadioguy]

Sentence b. is incorrect. There's no need to repeat to. It's already there in to the station. Think: get close to the station

Compare it with a structure like this:

It's a difficult place to get to by bicycle.

Think: get to a place

This is the closest to the station we can get by bicycle.

In this sentence, is the red part a relative clause? Is there a "that" (a relative pronoun) before "we" omitted? Isn't the antecedent "the station"?
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Think: get close to the station

But in (a), the "closest" is a adjective. Can it be the antecedent for the omitted "that" before "we"?

 

[jutfrank]

get close to the station
get closer to the station
get as close as possible to the station
get as close as we can to the station
get as close as we can (get) to the station

This is as close as we can get to the station.
This is the closest we can get to the station.

This is the closest we can get to the station by bike.
This is the closest to the station we can get by bike.

Don't confuse yourself by overanalysing the grammar. Try to focus on the meaning of the sentence. Obviously, there are two points in space: Point A is the location of the station and point B is a different point in space in relation to Point A. I think you know this.

So in This is the closest to the station we can get by bike, the red parts both refer to Point B, not Point A.

 

[capcap23]

This is the closest we can get to the station by bike.
This is the closest to the station we can get by bike.

Is this sentence ''This is the closest to the station we can get by bike'' inverted version of ''This is the closest we can get to the station by bike.''?

 

[jutfrank]

Is this sentence ''This is the closest to the station we can get by bike'' inverted version of ''This is the closest we can get to the station by bike.''?

The two versions have a different word order but they mean the same thing.

 

[kadioguy]

get close to the station
get closer to the station
get as close as possible to the station
get as close as we can to the station
get as close as we can (get) to the station

This is as close as we can get to the station.
This is the closest we can get to the station.

This is the closest we can get to the station by bike.
This is the closest to the station we can get by bike.

Don't confuse yourself by overanalysing the grammar. Try to focus on the meaning of the sentence. Obviously, there are two points in space: Point A is the location of the station and point B is a different point in space in relation to Point A. I think you know this.

So in This is the closest to the station we can get by bike, the red parts both refer to Point B, not Point A.

How about this?

This is (as) the closest to the station (as) we can get by bike.

Does this idea work?

 

[GoesStation]

How about this?

This is (as) the closest to the station (as) we can get by bike.

Does this idea work?

I can't tell what the idea is. The sentence is correct if you leave out both instances of "as".

 

[kadioguy]

How about this?

This is (as) the closest to the station (as) we can get by bike.

Does this idea work?

I think this idea is grammatically incorrect after I have seen the explanation below.
The superlative form cannot be used in the as ... as construction.

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We use as + adjective/adverb + as to make comparisons when the things we are comparing are equal in some way.

The world’s biggest bull is as big as a small elephant.
The weather this summer is as bad as last year. It hasn’t stopped raining for weeks.
You have to unwrap it as carefully as you can. It’s quite fragile.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/as-and-as-expressions/as-as

 

[jutfrank]

You can say this:

This is as close to the station as we can get.