Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
That isn’t as busy ________ this one.
(a)as a corner
(b)as corner as a
(c)a corner as
(d)as a corner as

Answer 1

Hint In the given sentence a comparison is being made, however, the sentence also contains ‘as’. This means that the word needed is a positive adjective, which can fulfill the comparison being made.

Complete answer Degrees of comparison are used to compare two or more subjects or objects. The three degrees of adjectives are positive, comparative, and superlative.
Positive - The positive degree is the simplest degree of comparison. It has no special ending. It offers no comparison, just the existence of a particular quality.
Comparative - This degree compares two or more things to find which one exists in a more or less. It either has the word ‘more’ before the adjective, or has the suffix ‘-er’ after the adjective.
Superlative - This degree denotes the most extreme form of the adjective. It is formed by using the article ‘the’ before the adjective and adding either ‘most’ before the adjective or the suffix ‘-est’ after the adjective.

Let us look at the given sentence:
In the given sentence, there are two corners being compared. Usually, we would use a comparative adjective. But, this sentence contains the phrase ‘as ______ as’. This means that now, we need a positive degree, as the comparison can be made by that phrase.

Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options:
(a)as a corner - The phrase ‘as _____ as’ should contain the adjective and the noun between the two ‘as’ words. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(b)as corner as a - The phrase ‘as _____ as’ should contain the adjective and the noun between the two ‘as’ words, and this includes the article along with the noun. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(c)a corner as - The phrase ‘as _____ as’ should contain the adjective and the noun between the two ‘as’ words. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
(d)as a corner as - The phrase ‘as _____ as’ should contain the adjective and the noun between the two ‘as’ words, and this includes the article along with the noun. However, it should not contain more than two ‘as’ words. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note Look at the given sentence and note that there are two people that are being compared. This means that the blank should be filled by a specific part of speech. Choose the correct option accordingly.