as ill as
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Thread: so ill as or as ill as
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#1 20-May-2003, 21:15so ill as or as ill as
Can you help me, which is correct?
I haven't felt as ill as I do now, for a long time.
or
I haven't felt so ill as I do now, for a long time.
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FrancesGuest#2 20-May-2003, 23:04
Re: so ill as or as ill as
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lucyarliwuGuest#3 21-May-2003, 02:43
Re: so ill as or as ill as
I will choose the second one: so ill as
:)
Lucy from China
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#4 21-May-2003, 05:07Re: so ill as or as ill as
It is a strange sentence in any case, but generally speaking it should be as ill as.
Originally Posted by valtango
Perhaps: "I haven't felt this ill in a long time."
Or: "I haven't felt so ill in a long time."
8)
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#5 21-May-2003, 16:35Re: so ill as or as ill as
so ill as is grammatically acceptable, but it has fallen into disuse and is heard increasingly rarely.
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#6 22-May-2003, 10:17Re: so ill as or as ill as
Grammar rules: so ... as is acceptable in negative sentences. So, 'I haven't felt so ill as I do now for a long time' is fine because the sentence is negative.
As ... as can be used in affirmative, negative ... whatever you like. So in this case it's also correct.
It would be incorrect to say: John is so tall as his father. (Affirmative sentence, only as ...as is possible here)
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#7 22-May-2003, 16:14The whole structure is falling into disuse- it only really survives in a few fossilised expressions nowadays.
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#8 22-May-2003, 20:48Re: so ill as or as ill as
True .... but we still have to point it out to our students who may be expected to use it in an exam......
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#9 23-May-2003, 06:16I agree. I don't think it would even be considered correct by many American grammarians. Originally Posted by tdol
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#10 23-May-2003, 16:24It occurs in some phrases that aren't negative- you do hear 'just so long as' here, but it's moribund.
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