student asking question

Is "as possible" omitted after "as much" in this sentence?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

No. "As possible" is not omitted here. "As much" in this scenario means "less." People can not eat out as much as they used to due to social distancing. The phrase "as much as possible" means to a feasible extent. If this news story were about how the government is trying to make people eat out less, then they would maybe use "as much as possible." However, this story isn't about that. It's how people are turning to meal kits for their dinners. Ex: We need him to practice the clarinet as much as possible. => We need him to practice the clarinet as much as he can. Ex: I don't swim as much as I used to. => I swim less than before. Ex: He needs a liver transplant as soon as possible. => He needs a liver transplant quickly. Ex: We don't go out as much as we did before covid. => We used to go out more before covid.

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