AS and THAN replacing the subject

Question

I have some doubts about comparatives and superlatives because I read that AS and THAN can introduce clauses in which there is no subject or object pronoun (rather as if AS and THAN were relative pronouns) Ex: Their marriage was as stormy as had been expected. He worries more than is good for him.
So I wonder: is it compulsory to omit "IT"? Is it a mistake to write "Their marriages were as stormy as THEY were expected" and "He worries more than IT is good for him" ?
And should I write: "Please send us the documents as soon as is possible" or "Please send us the documents as soon as IT is possible"?
"As far as is concerned" or "As far as IT is concerned" ?

In addition, if AS and THAN are considered relative pronouns, should I use the prepositions, such as "We helped you more than we are capable OF" or "We helped you more than we are capable"? "He told me more than I was interested IN" or "He told me more than I was interested" ?
"As was agreed upon" or "As was agreed" ?

I am really confused. Could you kindly help me? Thanks

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Anonymous Ex: Their marriage was as stormy as had been expected.

The movie was as advertised - violent and terrifying.
The movie was as (it was) advertised -...
The movies was as (it) had been advertised...

Note that the underlined are passive constructions, So they are like the past participle used as a modifier.
Passive voice constructions do not require an agent (subject of the corresponding active voice form).
In the sentences above, the grammatical subject is assumed from the main clause.

Anonymous Is it a mistake to write "Their marriages were as stormy as THEY were expected"

That is ungrammatical.
Here are the correct forms:

Their marriage was as stormy as had been expected (by their friends).
Their marriage was as stormy as their friends (had) expected it to be."
Their marriage was as stormy as their marriage (it) had been expected to be."

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AnonymousAnd should I write: "Please send us the documents as soon as is possible" or "Please send us the documents as soon as IT is possible"?

No. This is the best (and most common) way:
Please send us the documents as soon as possible.

AnonymousIn addition, if AS and THAN are considered relative pronouns,

"As" and "than" are not relative pronouns. They are conjunctions.

Anonymous"We helped you more than we are capable OF" or "We helped you more than we are capable"?

We helped you more than we are capable OF.

OK, but this makes more sense, logically:

You asked us to do more than (what) we are capable of. (The preposition is required; it is part of the phrasal verb. We are capable of doing this, but not that.)

Anonymous"He told me more than I was interested IN" or "He told me more than I was interested" ?

I was interested in this, but not that. ("in" is required. It is part of the phrasal verb.)

He told me that; I wasn't interested in that.
He told me more than (what) I was interested in.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you.

Considering that the grammatical subject is assumed from the main clause, in case there is a plural subject in tha main clause, should I use the plural in the AS/THAN clause or the singular because it refers to a general situation? Ex.:
Their marriages were as stormy as WERE expected. or Their marriages were as stormy as WAS expected.
Their marriages were as stormy as we expected THEM to be. or Their marraiges were as stormy as we expected IT to be.

Which are the correct sentences:
We gave him as many books as were on the table. OR We gave him as many books as THEY were on the table.
He loves her more than is good for him. OR He loves her more than IT is good for him. --> which is the subject here?
I will send you the document as soon as is ready. OR I will send you the document as soon as IT is ready.
As far as is concerned. OR As far as IT is concerned.

As to "as soon as possible", in case I want to write the full sentence, should I write "as soon as IT is possible" or "As soon as is possible"?

Is there a grammar rule enabling me to understand whether to express the subject after AS and THAN?

As to prepositions, considering we should use " interested IN" and "capable OF" in the sentences I gave you previously, what should I write:
"As was agreed, ...." or "As was agreed UPON,...."
"He did more than I hoped" or "He did more than I hoped FOR" ?
Why?

Thank you.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you.
A detail: in the sentences above you wrote some words as (it was), (what) etc., can them be expressed or not? I mean:
He told me more than WHAT I was interested in. OR He told me more than I was interested in.
The movie was as IT WAS ....

Thanks.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AnonymousA detail: in the sentences above you wrote some words as (it was), (what) etc., can them be expressed or not?

When I write words in parenthesis, I mean (that) they are optional. (That is optional in this sentence.)
When I write italic text in parenthesis, it is an explanation or note of the previous word, phrase or sentence.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you.
Do you mean that I can express IT and WHAT in the following sentences?:
The movie was as it was advertised.
The marriage was as stormy as it was expected.
I helped you as much as what I was capable of.
I did more than it is good for me.

Considering that the grammatical subject is assumed from the main clause, in case there is a plural subject in tha main clause, should I use the plural in the AS/THAN clause or the singular because it refers to a general situation?
Ex.: Their marriages were as stormy as WERE expected. or Their marriages were as stormy as WAS expected.
Their marriages were as stormy as we expected THEM to be. or Their marraiges were as stormy as we expected IT to be.

Which are the correct sentences?:
We gave him as many books as were available. OR We gave him as many books as THEY were available.
He works more than is good for him. --> which is the subject here? OR He works more than IT is good for him.
I will send you the documents as soon as are ready. OR I will send you the documents as soon as THEY are ready.
As far as is concerned. OR As far as IT is concerned.

As to "as soon as possible", in case I want to write the full sentence, should I write "as soon as IT is possible" or "As soon as is possible"?

Is there a grammar rule enabling me to understand whether to express the subject after AS and THAN?
As to prepositions, considering we should use " interested IN" and "capable OF" in the sentences I gave you previously, what should I write: "As was agreed, ...." or "As was agreed UPON,...." "He did more than I hoped" or "He did more than I hoped FOR" ? Why?
Thank you.

Reply

Anonymous · Answer

Could you kindly reply to my last message? Thanks.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Do you mean that I can express IT and WHAT in the following sentences?
No.

The movie was as it was advertised. OK, but "it" or "it was" are almost always omitted.
The marriage was as stormy as it was expected. No.
I helped you as much as what I was capable of. No.
I did more than it is good for me. No.

Their marriages were as stormy as WERE expected. OK. This treats the marriages as individual items.
Their marriages were as stormy as WAS expected. OK. There is something in common that causes the marriages to be considered as a collective. Eg: Some men get mail-order brides and marry women sight-unseen. Their marriages were as stormy as WAS expected.
Their marriages were as stormy as we expected THEM to be. OK
or Their marraiges were as stormy as we expected IT to be. No.

"As was agreed, ...." Fine. We agreed to correspond.
or "As was agreed UPON,...." OK. We agreed upon the general conditions for the negotiations.
"He did more than I hoped" OK = "He did more than I hoped he would do.
or "He did more than I hoped FOR" ? OK. I hoped for his participation in every event.

Why? Because those verbs can be used as single words and as phrasal verbs.

Anonymous · Answer

Which is the difference between these 2 sentences justifying the different treatment, even if we have always the presence of "AS":
The movie was as it was advertised.
The marriage was as stormy as was expected.
Maybe because the second one is a comparative while the first isn't? Please let me know, otherwise I do not know when to use the subject after AS. Thanks.

Which are the correct sentences?:
We gave him as many books as were available. OR We gave him as many books as THEY were available.
He works more than is good for him. --> which is the subject here? What? How much?
I will send you the documents as soon as are ready. OR I will send you the documents as soon as THEY are ready.
As far as is concerned. OR As far as IT is concerned.
As to "as soon as possible", in case I want to write the full sentence, should I write "as soon as IT is possible" or "As soon as is possible"?

Is there a grammar rule enabling me to understand whether to express the subject after AS and THAN? Because now every time I have to translate AS, I am in doubt whether to use the following subject....

Could I write "I helped him more than I am capable" where "THAN" has the meaning of "HOW MUCH" instead of "WHAT"?

Sorry to trouble you.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Say these, and you are fine. The first set are passive constructions with an unidentified, generalized agent.

The movie was as advertised (by people, in general) . (This is a common expression. It met our expectations)
The marriage was as stormy as was expected (by people in general). (It was as stormy as people expected it to be.)
The marriage was stormy, as expected (by people, in general). This is frequently put as an introductory phrase in the sentence.
As expected, the marriage was stormy.

As full sentences, the clauses would have dummy subjects. (Reference: http://grammar.about.com/od/e/g/existentialthereterm.htm )
We gave him as many books as (there) were available. (The dummy subject, an existential "there", is omitted. There were books available.)
He works more than is good for him. (The subject, normally a "dummy it," is omitted. It is good for him to work hard.)

As full sentences, the clauses have normal subjects.
I will send you the documents as soon as THEY (the documents) are ready. (The explicit subject or its pronoun equivalent cannot be omitted.)

Phrasal verb usage:
"I helped him more than I was capable of." (I am capable of helping him. "of" is part of the verb.)

AS and THAN replacing the subject

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions