Lesson 49B2

Advanced Comparatives: as...as, the...the

மேம்பட்ட ஒப்பீட்டு அமைப்புகள்

Beyond simple -er/more comparisons, English has a structure for equal comparison and a paired structure for two things changing together — both with close Tamil parallels once you see the pattern.

Grammar Comparison

as...as for equal comparison, the...the for parallel change

English

as tall as (equal comparison) / The more you practice, the better you get. (paired, parallel-change structure)

Tamil (English explanations)

அவனைப் போல உயரம் (equal comparison) / நீ எவ்வளவு பயிற்சி செய்கிறாயோ, அவ்வளவு நல்லா ஆவே (a paired structure matching English's the...the almost word for word)

Tamil's போல ('like/as') already builds equal comparisons (அவனைப் போல உயரம், 'as tall as him'), matching English's as...as directly. And Tamil's எவ்வளவு...அவ்வளவு ('however much...that much') pairs up two changing things in exactly the same shape as English's the more...the better — a near-perfect structural match. Once you recognize these Tamil patterns, both English structures should feel immediately familiar rather than new.

Vocabulary

as tall asaz tawl az

Tamil (English explanations): அவனைப் போல உயரம்avaṉaip pōla uyaram

not as expensive asnot az ik-SPEN-siv az

Tamil (English explanations): அவ்வளவு விலை இல்லைavvaḷavu vilai illai

The more you practice, the better you get.thuh mor yoo PRAK-tis thuh BET-er yoo get

Tamil (English explanations): நீ எவ்வளவு பயிற்சி செய்கிறாயோ, அவ்வளவு நல்லா ஆவே.nī evvaḷavu payiṟchi seygiṟāyō, avvaḷavu nallā āvē.

English	Pronunciation	Tamil (English explanations)
as tall as	az tawl az	அவனைப் போல உயரம்avaṉaip pōla uyaram
not as expensive as	not az ik-SPEN-siv az	அவ்வளவு விலை இல்லைavvaḷavu vilai illai
The more you practice, the better you get.	thuh mor yoo PRAK-tis thuh BET-er yoo get	நீ எவ்வளவு பயிற்சி செய்கிறாயோ, அவ்வளவு நல்லா ஆவே.nī evvaḷavu payiṟchi seygiṟāyō, avvaḷavu nallā āvē.

← Causative Verbs: have/get something done Discourse Connectors: however, although, despite →