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Jeff_999 Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

A grammatical question

Today I came across a sentence like this,
"Even those who disagreed with Carmen's views rarely faulted her for expressing them, for the positions she took were as thoughtful as they were controversial."


The positions were as thoughtful as they were controversial? Isn't it grammatically wrong? If it's not, which two things are compared?


And did you ever see this usage of “as … as” like this? Thank you! Emotion: smile
  

Top answer

It is correct and quite common. What is being compared is simply the degree to which the positions possessed one quality or another. They were perhaps very thoughtful and, equally, very controversial.

— CalifJim

  • It is correct and quite common.
  • What is being compared is simply the degree to which the positions possessed one quality or another.
  • They were perhaps very thoughtful and, equally, very controversial.
  • Or, less likely, they were perhaps moderately thoughtful and, equally, moderately controversial.
  • The usual meaning implied in these constructions is that one quality is equally descriptive as another in the given context and that both qualities hold in an extreme degree.
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2 Answers
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It is correct and quite common. What is being compared is simply the degree to which the positions possessed one quality or another. They were perhaps very thoughtful and, equally, very controversial. Or, less likely, they were perhaps moderately thoughtful and, equally, moderately controversial. The usual meaning implied in these constructions is that one quali
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Thank you, CJ. Emotion: smile Couldn't be any clearer. Thank you!!!
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