I've just come back from Kyoto!

I've just come back from Kyoto, where there was a wedding of my old friend. While walking around Kyoto, I felt that it is not as packed as Tokyo and it is very clean.

Although I like Tokyo because I was born there, I wish it could be clearner and less crowded.

The Japanese like comparison!?

If you take a look at grammar textbooks written in Japanese, you will be surprised that a lot of space is occupied with explanation about comparison. Even the book I'm using for a beginners' class has more than 10 pages for it and there is a list of idioms related to comparison, which will be shown below. I don' t think that some of them should be called idioms.


According to "新ＴＯＥＩＣテスト英文法をはじめからていねいに (TOEIC: English Grammar from the beginning)" by Tetsuya Yasukochi, Toshin Books

as... as any ~
(number) times as ... as ~
as... as ~ can = as... as possible
as... as ever
as... as ever lived [was]
do not so much as V
as many~
all the (comparative) for ~ = all the (comparative) because SV
not... any more than~
no more... than ~
no less... than~
no more than~
not more than~
no less than~
not less than~
S not V, much [still] less ~ = S not V, let alone~
not... any longer = no longer...
know better than to V
sooner or later
more or less
none the less
would rather V1 than V2
at most = not more than~
do one's best
not... in the least [slightest]

"Whale Sentence Structure" or "Whale Sentence Pattern"

A whale is no more a fish than a horse is.

This sentence is used to explain the concept of "comparison" in English grammar and it very very famous among only English learners in Japan.I think that teaching comparison is good. But, learners need to master sentences like these below before the sentence above:

Her hands were as cold as ice.

My wife earns as much money as you.

My boyfriend is much younger than me.

More and more people from Europe live in Tokyo.