Timeline for As good as it gets- grammar

Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0

7 events

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Apr 9, 2013 at 23:18	comment	added	John M. Landsberg		You're right that "get" does imply "obtain" and thus a transition. So if you see it as "the maximal state it can ever achieve or obtain," then you're on track. You just have to accept that "as good as it gets" (or as anything as it gets) is common and well-known. As with many phrases in English, it may not be obvious at first, because it became the way it is through some sort of evolution. Now that it has evolved, it works in this way, and you need to learn to accept it, because if you don't, you simply will be missing an understanding that would be commonly expected of a fluent speaker.
Apr 8, 2013 at 8:38	comment	added	John V		Thanks. Now I only wonder why not "as good as it can be". The "get" still implies a change, transition to me.
Apr 8, 2013 at 8:36	vote	accept	John V
Apr 8, 2013 at 8:26	comment	added	John M. Landsberg		Words have multiple meanings. "Get" does not refer only to changes of state. This just happens to be one of the ways we use this word. "As good as" normally is comparative, but the entire phrase is internally reflexive; when you complete it impersonally ("IT gets," rather than "my brother," which is personal), it becomes an absolute, not a comparative. And yes, "as good as it can ever be" is exactly right.
Apr 8, 2013 at 8:10	comment	added	John V		I might have got it - could I understand it as "as good as it can ever be"? Meaning the best because it cannot be better
Apr 8, 2013 at 8:02	comment	added	John V		Thank you, but how come "as good as" means best? If I say "at math, I am as good as my brother", other people still can be better, right? And if it is a current state (permanent), why use "get" which refers to changes of state, why not just "is"?
Apr 8, 2013 at 7:43	history	answered	John M. Landsberg	CC BY-SA 3.0