[Grammar] AS used in inversion

[tianhang]

Hi, my dear teachers. Thanks for your help during the past years! Now, I need your help again. As far as I know, as can be used in inversion, eg:
Clever as he is, he failed this time.
Student as he is, he started his own enterprise.
Fast as he ran, he misssed the early bus.
But can we say Many times as he was questioned, he didn't give any answer?
It sounds natural, but I am not clear whether it is acceptable?:roll:
Right here waiting for your answer!

 

[freezeframe]

Hi, my dear teachers. Thanks for your help during the past years! Now, I need your help again. As far as I know, as can be used in inversion, eg:
Clever as he is, he failed this time.
Student as he is, he started his own enterprise.
Fast as he ran, he misssed the early bus.
But can we say Many times as he was questioned, he didn't give any answer?
It sounds natural, but I am not clear whether it is acceptable?:roll:
Right here waiting for your answer!

You can do this with adjectives for emphasis.

Clever and fast are adjectives:

Clever as he is, he failed this time. :tick: = even though he is clever, he failed this time
Fast as he ran, he misssed the early bus. :tick: = even though he ran fast, he missed the early bus


"Student" is not an adjective. You cannot say:

Student as he is, he started his own business. :cross:

But you can say "Even though he was a student, he started his own business". :tick:

Similarly, you cannot say "Many times as he was questioned, he didn't give any answer". :cross:
But you can say "Even though he was questioned many times, he did not give any answer". :tick:

 

[allenman]

Hi, my dear teachers. Thanks for your help during the past years! Now, I need your help again. As far as I know, as can be used in inversion, eg:
Clever as he is, he failed this time.
Student as he is, he started his own enterprise.
Fast as he ran, he misssed the early bus.
But can we say Many times as he was questioned, he didn't give any answer?
It sounds natural, but I am not clear whether it is acceptable?:roll:
Right here waiting for your answer!

You're missing the initial "as"
As clever as he is...
As Student? This sentence makes no sense to me
As fast as he ran, he still missed the early bus.
As many times as he was questioned, he didn't give any answers.

Without the initial "as" you sound non native

Not a teacher

 

[freezeframe]

You're missing the initial "as"
As clever as he is...
As Student? This sentence makes no sense to me
As fast as he ran, he still missed the early bus.
As many times as he was questioned, he didn't give any answers.

Without the initial "as" you sound non native

Not a teacher

You don't need the initial as. "Clever as he is, ..." is a grammatically correct construction.

 

[tianhang]

Thanks for your explanations

Thank you very much! My dear friends and teachers. Every time I read your answers to my questions, I feel enveloped in warmth.
Though your answers differ in some way, I have a better understanding of the use of as now. Of course, more different and detailed explanations are appreciated here.

 

[5jj]

You don't need the initial as. "Clever as he is, ..." is a grammatically correct construction.

I believe that the initial 'as' in "as clever as he is ..." is more common in AmE

An acceptable alternative in BrE is "Clever though he he is..."

It is interesting (and potentially confusing) that, although this 'as' construction often means 'though', it can also mean 'because':

Clever as he is, he failed this time. - Although
Clever as he is, he passed with the highest grade. - Because

 

[JTRiff]

Non-teacher

Clever as he is, he failed this time.
Student that he is, he started his own enterprise. Works, but the sentence itself is still a bit confusing. How does being a student make him likely to start an enterprise?
Fast as he ran, he missed the early bus.
As many times as he was questioned, he didn't (give) supply any answers.

 

[5jj]

Student that he is, he started his own enterprise. Works, but the sentence itself is still a bit confusing. How does being a student make him likely to start an enterprise?

The assumption has to be that students are likely to start enterprises. A more generally acceptable illustration of the 'that' construction mght be:

Student that he is, he spent far more on beer than (on) books.

 

[tianhang]

Thanks a lot! What a rich laguage English is! It is you that open my eyes to it.
A world of thanks!