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I thought "tao" meant "so much" or "very much" or something. Too many redundancies...
It's because of the expression "tão --- como", "tão --- quanto", "tanto --- quanto".
These pair of words create the comparisons: (as --- as)
"Eles são tão fortes como nós" = They are AS strong AS us. Yeah, that's what I put
have patience = be patient (so far Portuguese feels like the easiest of 8 tongues I tried)
I bet that has something to do with your having tried 7 other languages already.
English is far, far more simple.
- No genders, no declinations, barely has conjugations.
Grammar paradise.
Perhaps I should reconsider it a little, 'cause English is an exception soup!
And very hard to be precise, as one can see by the comments, particularly when the "accepted" grammar is ignored. (Um engnheiro americano falando.)
But English has linking and assimilation that make understanding most spoken English extremely difficult for beginners. The extensive use of idioms (including verbal phrases) especially in American English makes for some tough sledding. And as to declinations, is simpler better?
Try italian, it follows the patterns like no other language. and it only has 5 vowel sounds!
Both "us"and "we"should be accepted here. It's not worth a big discussion (reported)
Too right! There's no point getting all uppity about 'incorrect' grammar, when the majority of native speakers make that particular 'mistake'.
It is grammatically incorrect to say "they are as strong as US". Instead, the correct answer would be "they are as strong as WE (ARE)".
Technically you're right, but I'd guess that at least 95% of English speakers would say "us" in that context if they didn't know ahead of time that you were going to be correcting their grammar. :-p
true, but most speakers would not repeat the verb, so they would use "as us" instead of "as we are". both are grammatically correct and you will hear both, but the first is much more common
No, dders is right, "we" is the only correct pronoun for the sentence. Although it is true that many would say "us", it is grammatically incorrect to say "as us". A trick in English is to complete the sentence after the pronoun. For example: "My sister is as tall as (me or I?)" "Me am tall" or "I am tall". The latter is correct, thus it should be "My sister is as tall as I".
"We" is grammatically correct (and only idiomatically correct, in the U.S. if you're among people who pay strong attention to grammar--to the point that "normal" people may be confused). "Us" is idiomatically correct (though not grammatically correct, unless you're of the "usage determines correctness" school of grammar).
"us"....and it's not a mistake...there are no "common mistakes" in a language...the very concept is an oxymoron
It's just the same as "Hi, it's me". Even though it is grammatically incorrect, 99% of English speaking people would eye roll at anyone who would use the correct form of "Hi, it is I" for presumed snobbery. So even though "as strong as us" is, indeed, incorrect, it is just another quirky form that got such a strong hold over the speakers that the correct "as strong as we are" is almost pushed to redundancy. Interesting little quirks of a living language :)
You are correct: "as strong as us" is used extensively amongst English speakers. Standard English: "as strong as we (are)."
the sentence states Eles = they sao = are tao = so fortes = strong como = like nos = us So how does it translate to they are as strong as us
They are as strong as we (are). - Standard English
They are as strong as us. - Colloquial/ less formal English
Affirmative: They are as strong as we/us.
Negative: They are not so strong as we/us.
No, it is not.
Check out "Coayuco" above. He gives a detailed explanation. It is helpful to read all the posts.
My husband is from Brazil. He says that they would never use tao to mean "as" or "like." It means so...as in very.
"They are so strong like us"--not used. Ever.
"They are so strong like we"--akward / poetic / unusual, and means something a little different.
"They are so strong. Like us." --idiomatic, but means something a bit different.
"They are so strong--like us." --idiomatic, but means something a bit different.
"They are so strong, like us." --idiomatic, but means something a bit different.
"They are as strong as us" --most idiomatic answer
"They are as strong as we" --formally most correct, but rarely used in speaking
If they are weak, and we are weak, it is correct to use, "as strong as." If they are medium-strong, and we are medium-strong, it is correct to use, "as strong as." If they are very strong, and we are very strong, it is correct to use, "as strong as."
In contrast, you can only say, "they are so strong. Like us" (Or any of the punctuation variants) if they are, in fact, very strong (and we are also very strong). Because you're not making a comparative statement. Instead, you're making an absolute statement, then tacking on comparison. It's not the same thing.
TLDR: "So strong as" and "so strong like" are not comparative phrases, in english. Neither is, "as strong like." "As strong as" is the comparative construction. Use, "as strong as," when comparing.
