Improving Sentence Structure: Comparing Friendliness

The original sentence is "He’s notso friendly likeshe is." The part underlined for improvement is "notso friendly likeshe is". This sentence attempts to make a comparison about the degree of friendliness between 'he' and 'she'. In standard English, when comparing qualities like 'friendly', specific structures are used.

Analyzing Comparison Structures

The sentence uses "not so friendly like". While "like" can sometimes be used for comparison, especially in informal contexts, the standard structure for comparing the degree of an adjective (like 'friendly') is typically "as + adjective/adverb + as" or, in negative comparisons, "not as + adjective/adverb + as" or "not so + adjective/adverb + as".

• 'as... as' structure: Used to show equality in degree (e.g., 'as friendly as').
• 'not as... as' or 'not so... as' structure: Used to show inequality in degree (e.g., 'not as friendly as', 'not so friendly as').
• 'so... that' structure: Used to show cause and effect or result (e.g., 'so friendly that everyone likes her').
• 'like' for comparison: Can be used to compare nouns or pronouns (e.g., 'She sings like an angel'). While sometimes used informally to introduce clauses, it's generally not preferred in formal writing when comparing degrees of adjectives/adverbs, where 'as' is standard.

Evaluating the Options for Sentence Improvement

Let's look at the given options to improve the underlined part "notso friendly likeshe is":

1. so friendly as

   If we replace the underlined part with "so friendly as", the sentence becomes "He's not so friendly as she is." This uses the correct negative comparison structure "not so... as" followed by the comparative term "she is". This structure is grammatically correct for comparing degrees of an adjective.

2. as friendly like

   Using "as friendly like" would result in "He's not as friendly like she is." The combination "as... like" for comparison is incorrect in standard English. The correct structure uses "as... as".

3. so friendly that

   Using "so friendly that" would result in "He's not so friendly that she is." This structure ("so... that") indicates result or consequence, not a direct comparison of the degree of friendliness between two people. It doesn't fit the intended meaning of the original sentence.

4. No improvement required

   As discussed, the original "notso friendly likeshe is" uses "like" in a way that is generally considered informal or incorrect for comparing degrees of adjectives in standard English. Therefore, improvement is required.

Conclusion on Improving the Sentence

Comparing the options, the structure "not so friendly as she is" is the grammatically correct way to express that 'he' is less friendly than 'she'. Option 1 provides "so friendly as", which fits perfectly into the "not so... as" comparison structure when combined with the preceding "not" (from "He's not").

Revision Table: Comparison Structures

Additional Information: Using 'Like' vs. 'As' for Comparison

Understanding when to use 'like' and 'as' for comparisons is a common point of confusion in English grammar. Here's a simple guide:

• Use 'like' as a preposition: This means it is followed by a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. It means 'similar to' or 'in the manner of'. Example: He acts like his father. (comparing actions to his father)
• Use 'as' as a conjunction: This means it is followed by a clause (subject + verb). It can mean 'in the way that' or 'at the same time that'. Example: Do as I say. (Do it in the way that I say)
• Use 'as... as' for comparing degrees: As discussed earlier, this is the standard structure for comparing the extent or degree of a quality or manner. Example: He is as tall as his brother.

In the original sentence, "she is" is a clause (subject 'she', verb 'is'), so 'as' is needed as a conjunction to introduce this clause in a comparison of degree, not 'like'.