1. He is as tall as she.
2. He is not as tall as she.
The first sentence says that his height is equal to that of hers (HE = SHE). The second sentence is the negation of it. Logically speaking, if his height is not equal to that of hers (HE ≠ SHE), then he must be either shorter (HE < SHE) or taller (HE > SHE) than she. But the second sentence generally means only the former, that he is shorter than she, and not the latter. Why is this so?
1. She is the tallest of all the students in the class.
2. She is as tall as any other student in the class.
The first sentence is often transliterated to the second second sentence. But if her height is equal to that of any other student in the class, how could she be the tallest?
2. He is not as tall as she.
The first sentence says that his height is equal to that of hers (HE = SHE). The second sentence is the negation of it. Logically speaking, if his height is not equal to that of hers (HE ≠ SHE), then he must be either shorter (HE < SHE) or taller (HE > SHE) than she. But the second sentence generally means only the former, that he is shorter than she, and not the latter. Why is this so?
1. She is the tallest of all the students in the class.
2. She is as tall as any other student in the class.
The first sentence is often transliterated to the second second sentence. But if her height is equal to that of any other student in the class, how could she be the tallest?
ExpThe first sentence says that his height is equal to that of hers (HE = SHE). The second sentence is the negation of it. Logically speaking, if his height is not equal to that of hers (HE ≠ SHE), then he must be either shorter (HE < SHE) or taller (HE > SHE) than she. But the second sentence generally means only the former, that he is shorter than she, and not the latter. Why is this so?This is so because language is not mathematics.
ExpThe first sentence is often transliterated to the second second sentence.Transliterated? That's the word that usually describes such things as the change from the characters of the Russian (Cyrilic) alphabet to the Roman (Western) alphabet. Maybe you mean "paraphrased".
In any case, "as tall as any other" should not be used as a paraphrase of "the tallest of all". Those expressions do not have the same meaning.
CJ
Comments
CJ
CJ
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Comparing her to each other student in the class, she is the same height or taller than each.
CJ