Tanto como / As much... as...

Tanto como / As much... as...
 

In Spanish you can say:

• Me gusta tanto el pan como la leche.
• Fuimos tanto a bailar como a cantar.

... meaning that you do both things, or that you don't exclude either of them. It's a way to emphasise:

• Me gusta el pan y la leche.
• Fuimos a bailar y a cantar.

Would you say the following sentences in English?

• I like bread as well as milk.
• We went to dance as well as to sing

And, the second part of the question is when do you use as much + (...) + as?

Thanks a lot in advance!

The first sentence I checked above could also be said:
I like both bread and milk.

The second sentence could also be said:
We went to both dance and sing.

As you stated, these sentences emphasize that both parts must be present. However, most American English speakers would probably just emphasis the word 'and' instead of using the more formal sounding 'both' and 'as well as' phrases. For example,
I like bread AND milk (with my soup).
We went to dance AND sing (at the festival).


To answer the second half of your question, I'll have to defer. I honestly can't think of a case where an 'as much + (...) + as' construction exists in English. You'll see tons of sentences like, "This vacation was as much fun as the one last year," but this is not the construction you're asking about. I'll give this question some more thought.

Thanks a lot for your corrections, Rusty!

This is an option. I wrote (...) because I wasn't sure what kind of word can fit the structure.


So, I understand you can fill the gap with some nouns. I was thinking if the rule is that these ones are uncountable nouns, like:

• There is as much water as wine / as in the Ocean / as to die of hydropesia.
• You can see as much richness as poorness.
• I like as much beauty as eccentricity.

Contrasting:

• There are as many wolves as rabbits.
• You can see as many cars as bikes.

Are these sentences right?
Thanks a lot!

The WO in one of the sentences is not ok. You would say :I like beauty as much as.... I am unable to make any sense of the last water example you give: Do you mean There is so much water that you could die of...?

Yes, it is:
There is so much water that you could die of hydropesia.

So, I guess the example I gave is not correct.
However, you can say, as Rusty stated:
It is as much fun as the last one.


I guess:

• so much ... that...
• as much ... as...

But, when you use each of them? And, what kind of words can fill each gap?

Thanks a lot for your help!

You've got the concept right. There are just a few fine points need some
brushing up. Look at my corrections. Ask if you have questions.

I hope this helps

Thanks a lot, Poli, for your corrections and suggestions!
I guess I need a rule, and it will be hard to get it.

I think I should consider the phrase as much as apart from the other two structures: as much ... as; so much... that. These last two ones are those I'm most interested in. Let's check some structures:

• I love you as much as you love that other guy.
• I love you so much that I would dance with a mouse all a whole night.

And now, trying to open a gap and filling it with some words:

• I gave you as much love as you brought indifference back to me.
• I felt so much in love that I'm flying without a pilot license.

Thanks a lot for your help!

You have got it right. When you use the words as much as, think of a scale, because as much as evokes a balance

In so/that, think of the prepositional phrase which intiated with
that as an adverb.

Your sentences have a nice whimsical character that will amuse some and confound others

And by the way, what's the relationship between love:love: and dancing with mice?

Her name is Love. Mine is misery.

Very funny :D

Just a nuance
 

Remember also that, in English, the gerund, or -ing form of the verb, is far more versatile than it's Spanish counterpart, and often used where you'd use the infinitive in Spanish. I'd contend that, in colloquial American English, one would be very likely to phrase it in one of two ways:

- I like singing and dancing.
- I like singing as much as dancing

Come to think of it, you'd never hear anyone use the infinitive in an "as much as" statement. Hence, this would sound stilted:

- I like to sing as much as to dance.

If using the infinitive with "and," the second "to" would definitely be dropped, so an option would be:

- I like to sing and dance.

In writing, the statement would most likely go something like:

- I like singing as much as I do dancing.

One more note: in British English, I've heard the first "as" replaced with "so" in negative versions of the sentence. So you'd have:

- I don't like singing so much as dancing.

To round it out, let me give you the way an American speaker would most likely say or write the negative:

- I don't like singing as much as dancing.

Hope that helps.

To continue
 

Now that I've thought about the wolves and mice, I have to say that the following simple statements seem a little unnatural to me:

- You can see as many wolves as mice.
- You see as many wolves as mice.

Not to say that I haven't said things in that manner, but I was being poetic, or fancy, or something other than natural. I think it would be more natural to repeat the initial verb in the second half of the sentence. I think you would say:

- You can see as many wolves as you can mice

I'm reminded of the need in Spanish to sometimes repeat "de" before subsequent nouns. Were the verb "to be able" (can) not used, one would fall back on "to do":

- You see as many wolves as you do mice.

Strangely, repeating a form of the verb "to see" would not work as well as "to do." And after writing all this, I'm reminded of just how complicated languages really are. Good luck.

After further thought
 

The wolves and mice brought me back around to singing and dancing. I think the only way to get away with using the infinitive in an "as much as" statement is to repeat the initial verb, as with the wolves and mice:

- I like to sing as much as I like to dance.

versus

- I like to sing as much as dance

which sounds a little off.

It's as clear as water. Thank you very much, Gatito!

LOL.
The question then should be `Who is the unlucky lady?´

It was me the only unlucky one. But this was at least a week ago. Now I've already gotten over it. Life's beautiful!

That´s rather fast.:p