Air is to us what water is to fish.

Hi,

Air is to us what water is to fish.

. . . what does it mean?

A is to B what C is to D means that the relationship between A and B is the same as the relationship between C and D. In other words, the relationship between A and B is what the relationship between C and D is.

The relationship between water and fish i

I have also seen the structure A is to B as C is to D.

Air is to us as water is to fish.

We require air to breathe while fish require water to do the same.

CliveHi,

Air is to us what water is to fish.

. . . what does it mean?

A is to B what C is to D means that the relationship between A and B is the same as the relationship between C and D. In other words, the relationship between A and B is what the relationship between C and D is.

The relati

In British English we use 'as' here instead of 'what'.

It's a very common structure in kids' English tests.

Pardon me folks, this maybe another can of worm I am about to open for myself...

Is this possible that the correct form is "Air to us is what water is to fish"?

Hi Goodman,

What do you mean by 'correct'? Acceptable grammar? Most commonly heard?

Clive

Hi Clive,

Thanks for taking interest to my question...

<<<What do you mean by 'correct'? Acceptable grammar? Most commonly heard?>>>

I meant all of the above. The original posted question was Air is to us what water is to fish.

The way I heard it is slight

Hi,

It's a pretty standard form of words.

A is to B as C is to D.

A is to B what C is to D.

Your suggestion is also OK, however.

Clive

Could it be a relative pronoun

It's a fused relative (pronoun). It's a fusion of that and which.

... what water is ... = ... that which water is ... = ... that thing which water is ...

CJ