In this mini episode, you will learn how to use the “as can be” construction.
Episode 296 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you how to use the “as can be” construction. Send your questions about English and your suggestions for future episodes to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hello, everyone. This is Helen, from Shenzhen, China. And you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 296 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts, on the Stitcher app, and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to everybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I want to talk about an interesting construction. And that construction is “as can be.” As can be. That’s as—a-s, can—c-a-n, be—b-e. As can be.
This construction is a little bit difficult to talk about. For one thing, it never occurs all by itself. It’s only used as part of a longer phrase. And also it is a little bit old-fashioned. People still use it, but it doesn’t look like regular English.
Before I can really talk about “as can be,” I need to talk about a similar construction. This is sometimes called the “as… as” construction, and it’s a way of comparing two things. For instance, you might say, “My son is as tall as my daughter.” My son is as tall as my daughter. And what that means is they are the same in terms of how tall they are.
Another example of a sentence that uses this construction is “My new house is as big as my old house.” My new house is as big as my old house. That means that when it comes to how big my new house is, it’s the same as my old house. My new house is as big as my old house.
And this brings us to the “as can be” construction. What does it mean if we say that something is as good as can be? It looks a lot like that “as… as” construction. As good as can be. But it seems to be missing something. It seems to be missing one of those nouns. As good as can be. This is kind of an old-fashioned construction, and it looks a little bit strange.
And what does it mean if we say that something is as good as can be? What that means is something is as good as it could be. It is the best that is possible. If something is as big as can be, that means that it is the biggest that is possible. It is as big as anything could ever be.
Let me give you an example of a situation where somebody might use the “as can be” construction.
Let’s say that your friend has been learning how to make all kinds of fancy desserts. And she invites you over to her apartment so that you can try one of these desserts. You take a bite, and you say, “This is as delicious as can be.” This is as delicious as can be. That means this is the most delicious that anything could be. This is the most delicious thing possible. It is as delicious as can be. In other words, it’s as delicious as the most delicious thing. That’s what you’re saying when you use this “as can be” construction.
And I realize that this is kind of a strange construction. It’s a little bit old-fashioned, and that’s why it might look a little bit weird.
That is the “as can be” construction. And it is another English topic that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 296 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have comments or suggestions for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Helen recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to everybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode, and until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!