as young/old as

[Itasan]

Do the following both work? Is there any difference
in meaning?
1. His brother is as young as my brother.
2. His borther is as old as my brother.
Thank you.

[sbourque]

I'd say "His brother is the same age as my brother." The "as old/ young as" construction, when used to describe people, is often heard in sentences with a negative such as

She's not as young as she looks.
He's as old as my brother, but he's not as smart.
She's not as old as my brother, but she's a much better swimmer.

[Lorikeet]

I'd say "His brother is the same age as my brother." The "as old/ young as" construction, when used to describe people, is often heard in sentences with a negative such as

She's not as young as she looks.
He's as old as my brother, but he's not as smart.
She's not as old as my brother, but she's a much better swimmer.

Hmm, while I agree that all your sentences are correct, I don't think the "as old/young as" construction is necessarily oftenheard in sentences with a negative--I think it can be either positive or negative.

My cousin's wife isn't as old as he is, so she's the one that does the driving.
Mary is as old as Tom, so they can both get senior discounts.
She draws very well for someone as young as she is.

[JapanG]

I don`t believe there is a right or wrong answer to this. Its simply a matter of perception. If we think of something as "old" we would use "not as old as." If we think of it as young then we use young.

[sbourque]

I didn´t necessarily mean a negative perception, just a negative construction in the sentence (Lorikeet, your first sentence is an example of this!)

Although we do use that phrase "You're only as old as you feel" quite a bit, to describe those of us seniors who refuse to grow old gracefully...

[Lorikeet]

I didn´t necessarily mean a negative perception, just a negative construction in the sentence (Lorikeet, your first sentence is an example of this!)

Aha!