# Slovene: tako ... kot ("as ... as")



## Gavril

(Scroll down for English translation)

Dober dan,

Sem poskušal najti primere od stavka "je tako visok kot/kakor ...". Iskalnik pa vrne le malo zadetkov za "je tako visok kot" -- se veliko več zadetkov zdi biti za "je visok kot". 


Ali se uporablja zgradba _tako_ [pridevnik] _kot_ veliko manj pogosto kot le "[pridevnik] kot", ali gre za nekaj več?


Npr. ali kaj spremeni, če se "tako" vključi ali izpusti v teh stavkih?


_Janez ni (tako) visok kot Venčeslav._
_Komaj verjamem, kako visok je Anže. Je (tako) visok kot streha v moji sobi._
_Primož je (tako) hiter kot je opisal iskalec talentov._


Najlepša hvala,
G

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I have tried to find examples of the phrase "je tako visok kot/kakor" (i.e., "He/she is as tall as ..."). However, there are not many search results for this phrase, and there seem to be far more results for "je visok kot", without _tako_.

Is the phrase _tako_ (adjective) _kot_ used much less often than simply _kot_, or is there something more going on here? For example, in the example sentences above, does it make a difference whether you use _tako_ or not?


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## calcraft

I'm not a native South Slavic speaker, but I'll venture an educated opinion about these examples.  I hope others take a look at this, and check whether what I say is valid, especially because we talk about such interesting, IMHO, subjects here.

I think that "Janez ni visok kot Venčeslav" would be equivalent to English "J. is not tall like V.",  whereas "ni tako visok kot" would be more like "not _as_ tall as".  That pesky "kot" seems to fill the bill of both "as" and "like", the latter of which is of course pretty colloquial in English, but the difference is emphasized by our use of two separate words.  The positive utterances would then be _"Primož is fast, like the talent scout described (him)" [without "tako"], and  "Primož is as fast as the talent scout described (him)" [with tako].  

Please let me know if I'm all wet._


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## iezik

Gavril said:


> Iskalnik pa vrne le malo zadetkov za "je tako visok kot" -- se veliko več zadetkov zdi biti za "je visok kot".


Gugl (google) ima več načinov iskanja. Če vnesem fraze brez narekovajev, je približno število zadetkov iz moje lege
- je tako visok kot: 7.000.000
- je visok kot: 2.700.000
Ti rezultati vsebujejo seveda še mnoge druge besede vmes. Bolj uporabno je štetje z narekovaji:
- "je tako visok kot": 44.000
- "je visok kot": 11.000
Morda je število rezultatov odvisno od kraja iskanja ali nastavitev računalnika.

V naslednjih stavkih je "tako" običajno uporabljen, če ne spreminjamo besednega zaporedja.


Gavril said:


> _Janez ni (tako) visok kot Venčeslav._
> _Komaj verjamem, kako visok je Anže. Je (tako) visok kot streha v moji sobi._
> _Primož je (tako) hiter kot je opisal iskalec talentov._


Drugi stavek lahko tudi preuredimo v enakovrednega "Visok je kot streha v moji sobi".
Pri zadnjem stavku je potrebna vejica, ker beseda "kot" uvaja odvisni stavek: Primož je tako hiter, kot je opisal iskalec talentov.


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## iezik

calcraft said:


> Janez ni visok kot Venčeslav.



Such sentences are not common, it's usual to have "tako" before "visok".


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## calcraft

Zelo zanimivo in hvala. Sumil sem tudi, da vejica bi bilo potrebno v njem.

 Samo eno vprašanje: ali stavek, kot "_Primož je hiter kot je opisal iskalec talentov_" sploh _obstaja_? In kako bi jo prevedli v angleščino? (Če je tako, bi seveda potrebovali tudi vejico).

Please  forgive my Google-assisted Slovenian.  I do so love your language,  though.  I love Russian, too, except that you Slovenes don't mollycoddle  your consonants, for example as in "мнениями и намерениями".  Russian speakers, please do not gang up on me for this.

In  1961, I took a SC course at Indiana, which was taught by a little old  "visiting" professor, who had difficulties with English, and so he  conducted the class in Russian !  The impression he gave, though, of the  linguistic map of Yugoslavia was "Tito-esque", if I may coin a word.   He never referred to Slovenian as a language; instead, when he mentioned  it at all, it was with the explanation that "well, they say 'kaj'  instead of "što".  It was only 40 years later, when my daughter married a  young man named Mrvar, that I realized that Slovenian is a LANGUAGE in  its own right, and that our teacher back at university was, albeit a  great guy, "preaching" a sort of linguistic propaganda. In keeping, I'm  sure, with the idea of south Slav solidarity.   

Times have changed, though, haven't they?


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## Pribina

iezik said:


> Bolj uporabno je štetje z narekovaji:
> - "je tako visok kot": 44.000
> - "je visok kot": 11.000
> Morda je število rezultatov odvisno od kraja iskanja ali nastavitev računalnika.



The result count that Google shows on the first page is "an approximation", one that almost always shows a count _far greater_ than the actual one.

I suggest that whenever you need an actual count of results, go a couple of pages forward because the result count on page 1 simply cannot be trusted.

Searching for "je tako visok kot" (with quotation marks so as to exclude anything else) tells on page 1 that there are 49,600 results, but after I click forward, it turns out that Google only offers a lousy 26 (*!*) results.

Perhaps it's better to use Gigafida to make comparisons between different constructions.


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## iezik

So I was wrong on the occurrence counts. With "next page" button, the counts are
- "je tako visok kot": 19
- "je visok kot": 45
The numbers are again different from Pribina's numbers, it probably depends on settings. When I have more time, I'll check the sentences.


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## Gavril

Hvala, vsi.


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