A grammar source says
If there is an adjective and a noun after the first as, a / an must go
between them.
- I hope you will agree that I am as imaginative a cook as my wife (is)!
But is there a strict grammar rule where to put a/an in an as + adjective + noun + as structure?
Can we say,
- I hope you will agree that I am a cook as imaginative as my wife (is).
And suppose there is a teacher who is playing a game with kids at school .Which one would she say
- Could you pick me up a fruit as sweet as an apple
or
- Could you pick me up as sweet a fruit as apple
Thanks in advance!
Best Answer
Your second example:
is something I might say, but I'd probably never write it. However, if you make it conform to the first rule you cited, it turns into:
This new version reduces nicely without changing its primary meaning:
The original does not reduce gracefully:
Which suggests that it is not a properly structured sentence.
To answer your second question, the teacher would definitely say
The second construction is technically correct (except that it should end with "an apple"), but in English we usually lead with the direct object before we modify it with a preposition. The more you separate the verb ("pick up") from the direct object ("a fruit"), the more challenging it will be for listeners to understand your sentence.
This would be especially true in a classroom where the teacher is trying to be very clear in her instructions.
I would expect her actual phrasing to be more like: