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Exodejavu Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
As brave as any/anything in the world
Hi,
A question goes:
He's as brave as any in the world.
a) He’s not brave at all.
b) He’s less brave than any other in the world.
c) He’s the bravest man in the world.
d) He’s the only brave man in the world.
And the answer is (c).
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I am curious about the wording.
The wording I found in the dictionaries is "as [adjective] as anything." I did not find a wording like "as [adjective] as any."
Hmm...so I took the answer with a pinch of salt.
Some dictionaries have online versions, so I quote the use in question as follows.
2) He is as brave as anything.
3) He is as brave as anyone in the world.
4) He is as brave as anyone.
What will the meanings of these sentence be?
Best Regards
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I love this website so much!
A question goes:
He's as brave as any in the world.
a) He’s not brave at all.
b) He’s less brave than any other in the world.
c) He’s the bravest man in the world.
d) He’s the only brave man in the world.
And the answer is (c).
----------
I am curious about the wording.
The wording I found in the dictionaries is "as [adjective] as anything." I did not find a wording like "as [adjective] as any."
Hmm...so I took the answer with a pinch of salt.
Some dictionaries have online versions, so I quote the use in question as follows.
1) He is as brave as anything in the world.
- as important/clear/big etc as anything: [informal] extremely important/clear etc
anything - Definition from Longman English Dictionary online
- as happy, quick, etc. as anything: (informal) very happy, quick, etc
http://www.oup.com/oald-bin/web_getald7index1a.pl?nav=on&which_entry=001534%23x1%23x1%23anything&selected_word=anything&search_word=anything
- as ... as anything [MAINLY UK INFORMAL]: used to add emphasis to an adjective or adverb
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=3366&dict=CALD
2) He is as brave as anything.
3) He is as brave as anyone in the world.
4) He is as brave as anyone.
What will the meanings of these sentence be?
Best Regards
----------
I love this website so much!
Top answer
exodejavu 1) He is as brave as anything in the world. "In the world" adds nothing. " "I guess you could call "in the world" an intensifier.
- exodejavu 1) He is as brave as anything in the world.
- "In the world" adds nothing.
- " "I guess you could call "in the world" an intensifier.
- " #1 should mean the same as #2.
- 2) He is as brave as anything.
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4 Answers
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exodejavu1) He is as brave as anything in the world. "In the world" adds nothing. "Anything" means "anything at all." "I guess you could call "in the world" an intensifier. Technically, depending on your definition, "in the world" could limit "anything" to a smaller range than "in the universe." #1 should mean the same as #2.
2) He is as brav
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So both #3 and #4 do not mean "He is the bravest man (in the world)," right?
#3 and #4 mean that "He is just like everybody else"?
#3 and #4 mean that "He is just like everybody else"?
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I see the problem. If I say, "He's the same as anyone [else], it means he's just your average bloke. When you say "He's as brave as anyone," without context to the contrary, it means no one is braver than he. I'm sure most native speakers would take it that way.
If the context were that the guy was considered to be a coward, then "He's as brave as anyone" might be
If the context were that the guy was considered to be a coward, then "He's as brave as anyone" might be
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Avangi It would be a good idea to get more opinions.
And...bump...
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