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Gg g Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
What does this sentence mean?
'I told him that a heart so benevolent as his ought to be filled with peace and thanks at the thought of how much pleasure his gesture were giving to the crowd. '
I know if so ~ as means same with as~ as, it must be a negative form. so what did I tell him? Did I tell that his heart is so benevolent? what does 'as' mean here..? I don't understand the grammar of this sentence. plz help.
I know if so ~ as means same with as~ as, it must be a negative form. so what did I tell him? Did I tell that his heart is so benevolent? what does 'as' mean here..? I don't understand the grammar of this sentence. plz help.
Top answer
"a heart so benevolent as his" does mean "a heart as benevolent as his". You are right that you cannot use "so ... as" in many affirmative statements.
- "a heart so benevolent as his" does mean "a heart as benevolent as his".
- You are right that you cannot use "so ...
- as" in many affirmative statements.
- For example, you cannot say "he is so old as me" for "he is as old as me".
- However, it is allowed when directly modifying a noun, as in the example here.
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2 Answers
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"a heart so benevolent as his" does mean "a heart as benevolent as his".
You are right that you cannot use "so ... as" in many affirmative statements. For example, you cannot say "he is so old as me" for "he is as old as me". However, it is allowed when directly modifying a noun, as in the example here. It feels slightly literary.
You are right that you cannot use "so ... as" in many affirmative statements. For example, you cannot say "he is so old as me" for "he is as old as me". However, it is allowed when directly modifying a noun, as in the example here. It feels slightly literary.
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