Japanese/Grammar/～ほど

Comparison

• Only used for negative verbs.
• Has a different nuance when used with positive verbs.

Examples

バンクーバーは東京ほど暑くない。

Vancouver is not as hot as Tokyo.

It was ... to the extent that I could/couldn't/did/didn't ...

• <some activity> ほど <condition>
• The condition (e.g., heat, noise) was so great, that it caused something else.
• In "Making Sense of Japanese" by Jay Rubin, he compares it to the old joke of "It was so hot/cold/etc that <some funny thing occurred because of it>."

Examples

勉強ができないほど暑かった。

It was so hot that I couldn't study.