'as long as' vs. 'so long as'

[Summer2014]

Could someone explain what's the difference between 'as long as' and 'so long as'? Or there's no difference between them?? Thanks!

 

[konungursvia]

I find them similar, and would venture to say that "as long as" is AmE, while "so long as" is more common in BrE.

 

[emsr2d2]

"As long as" is very natural/common in BrE.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I think "as long as" is more common in AmE, but "so long as" is used.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Summer:


Some books say that some speakers (and especially writers) like to reserve "as ... as" for positive statements and "so .. as" for negative statements.

1. I am as tall as George.
2. I am not, however, so tall as Tony.

3. You may stay with us as long as you wish.
4. Aunt Mona stayed with us for one month. But you did not stay with us so long as she did. Why?

*****

There is a theory. I do not know how accurate it is.

The idea is that native speakers are so accustomed to hearing "as ... as" for positive sentences that some speakers / writers thought that by using "so ...as," they would be emphasizing the negative to our listeners / readers.

Whenever I have time to think, I try to say sentence #2. (But in hurried conversation, I have no doubt that I would forget to use "so" -- because most people here in the United States use "as" for both positive and negative statements. And that is what I have heard all my life.)


James

 

[emsr2d2]

That is a theory I have never come across. I don't differentiate between positive and negative statements or questions as far as the use of "as ... as" is concerned.

You can stay here as long as you like.
She didn't stay here as long as you did.
I am as tall as my father.
I am not as tall as my father.

However, the use of "as ... as" is not the issue here. The issue is the difference (or not) between "as long as" and "so long as" meaning "provided that".

As long as you do your homework, you can go out and play with your friends.
So long as you do your homework, you can go out and play with your friends.

Those two mean the same thing and are probably used equally. I don't know if there are specific variants of English which use one over the other.

 

[Summer2014]

Wow! Thank you all for your input! I am new to this forum but have learned a lot here!!

 

[Rover_KE]

Your appreciation is welcome, Summer, but there is no need to write a new post to say Thank you. Simply click the Thank button on any posts you find helpful. It means that we don't have to open the thread again to read your new post and then find that it doesn't include any new information or an additional question. It saves everybody's time.

Two more things: 'Wow!' needs the exclamation mark, but your next two sentences only need full stops (periods). Please use the icon to insert a smiley.​

 

[Tdol]

Some books say that some speakers (and especially writers) like to reserve "as ... as" for positive statements and "so .. as" for negative statements.

I think it's more a question of frequency than a rule- so did, apparently, appear more commonly in negative sentences, but I don't think that this meant that the forms were divided in this way- it just meant that so didn't appear as frequently in positive sentences so some extracted this rule, but as appeared in both, making it one that didn't reflect the reality IMO. However, so is used less nowadays, so I think there is even less in the claim nowadays.