as less of a noun as

[mobin68]

Hi everyone,

I was talking to a non-native speaker, she was talking about how she had lost her faith in many things and that now she was trying to avoid believing in supernatural things as much as possible. She said I try to be as less of a believer as possible.
This phrase seemed incorrect to me because she used less between as....as. Do you think this sentence is correct?

 

[Gorgiewave]

No. "I try to believe as little as possible" would be the most natural way to say it. "I try to be as little [of - in the USA] a believer as possible" would be another possibility.

There's a logical contradiction in what she said: as...as states that two things are in some respect equal, whereas less means that they are different.

 

[PaulQ]

Unfortunately, this depends on the accuracy of your hearing and memory. It also depends on the punctuation and tone. Moreover, it depends on the context.

As it is, it is not grammatical, but then I have never met anyone who speaks their native language perfectly 100% of the time. It's certainly comprehensible.

She said "I try to be... as less of a believer as [it is] possible [to be]. - it's about passable...

 

[mobin68]

Unfortunately, this depends on the accuracy of your hearing and memory. It also depends on the punctuation and tone. Moreover, it depends on the context.

As it is, it is not grammatical, but then I have never met anyone who speaks their native language perfectly 100% of the time. It's certainly comprehensible.

She said "I try to be... as less of a believer as [it is] possible [to be]. - it's about passable...

haha...all right I got it!

 

[lingobingo]

I was talking to a non-native speaker, she was talking about how she had lost her faith in many things and that now she was trying to avoid believing in supernatural things as much as possible. She said I try to be as less of a believer as possible.
This phrase seemed incorrect to me because she used less between as....as. Do you think this sentence is correct?

It is incorrect. It sounds terrible.

to be as less of a believer as possible = to be as not so much of a believer as possible