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Jackson6612 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
As much of a threat as Iran with nuclear weapons could conceivably pose
Between 8:48 and 9:07 the speaker says: As much of a threat as Iran with nuclear weapons could conceivably pose to Israel sometime in the near future, as you and I sit here having this conversation, Israel has 200 nuclear weapons, most of them pointed at Tehran. Why wouldn't Iran want nuclear weapons?
I couldn't understand the structure of the sentence above, though I understand its literal meaning. Mostly 'as much of (something) as' is preceded by a noun phrase or 'is', 'are', etc. Check this link for the use of 'as much of a threat as':
But here the sentence begins with it. It would have been okay to me if it were something like this:
As you and I sit here having this conversation, Israel has 200 nuclear weapons, most of them pointed at Tehran which is as much of a threat as Iran with nuclear weapons could conceivably pose to Israel sometime in the near future. Why wouldn't Iran want nuclear weapons?
I couldn't understand the structure of the sentence above, though I understand its literal meaning. Mostly 'as much of (something) as' is preceded by a noun phrase or 'is', 'are', etc. Check this link for the use of 'as much of a threat as':
But here the sentence begins with it. It would have been okay to me if it were something like this:
As you and I sit here having this conversation, Israel has 200 nuclear weapons, most of them pointed at Tehran which is as much of a threat as Iran with nuclear weapons could conceivably pose to Israel sometime in the near future. Why wouldn't Iran want nuclear weapons?
Top answer
Sorry, my sound is down. As much of a threat as Iran with nuclear weapons could conceivably pose to Israel sometime in the near future, as you and I sit here having this conversation, Israel has 200 nuclear weapons, most of them pointed at Tehran. Why wouldn't Iran want nuclear weapons?
- Sorry, my sound is down.
- As much of a threat as Iran with nuclear weapons could conceivably pose to Israel sometime in the near future, as you and I sit here having this conversation, Israel has 200 nuclear weapons, most of them pointed at Tehran.
- Why wouldn't Iran want nuclear weapons?
- My first impulse was to agree that this is wrong.
- But I'm now comfortable with it.
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5 Answers
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Sorry, my sound is down.
As much of a threat as Iran with nuclear weapons could conceivably pose to Israel sometime in the near future, as you and I sit here having this conversation, Israel has 200 nuclear weapons, most of them pointed at Tehran. Why wouldn't Iran want nuclear weapons?
My first impulse was to agree that
As much of a threat as Iran with nuclear weapons could conceivably pose to Israel sometime in the near future, as you and I sit here having this conversation, Israel has 200 nuclear weapons, most of them pointed at Tehran. Why wouldn't Iran want nuclear weapons?
My first impulse was to agree that
00
Okay, I see that it's "as much of" that is troubling you.
As much of a threat as Iran IS, = As much as Iran is a threat,
(common expression: You are not much of a threat!)
As much of a threat as Iran IS, = As much as Iran is a threat,
(common expression: You are not much of a threat!)
00
So what you are saying breaks down to the point:
Although Iran with nuclear weapons could conceivably pose a threat to Israel sometime in the near future, as you and I sit here having this conversation, Israel has 200 nuclear weapons, most of them pointed at Tehran. Why wouldn't Iran want nuclear weapons?
Does the sentence above still carry the exact same meaning as the orig
Although Iran with nuclear weapons could conceivably pose a threat to Israel sometime in the near future, as you and I sit here having this conversation, Israel has 200 nuclear weapons, most of them pointed at Tehran. Why wouldn't Iran want nuclear weapons?
Does the sentence above still carry the exact same meaning as the orig
00
In my opinion your paraphrase is accurate.
The original is a bit awkward, and there's no way I know of to prepare for something like this.
When you're comfortable with English, as the speaker obviously is, you have a sense of where you're going with the sentence, and can decide to elaborate ad libitum, or substitute a longer phrase for the more common shorter one. You so
The original is a bit awkward, and there's no way I know of to prepare for something like this.
When you're comfortable with English, as the speaker obviously is, you have a sense of where you're going with the sentence, and can decide to elaborate ad libitum, or substitute a longer phrase for the more common shorter one. You so
00
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