Metkagram
EN RU

B2–C1 · GFF · GFF020

Subject + be + anything but + adjective

Explanation

A reusable frame from “Negation, inversion and focus”. Compare how English and German express negation, inversion and focus. Practise reusable constructions with Russian translations.

Structure

EN · EnglishSubject + be + anything but + adjective
DE · GermanSubject + sein + alles andere als + adjective

Anchor phrase

RU · Translation

Процесс был совсем не простым.

EN · English

The process was anything but straightforward.

DE · German

Der Ablauf war alles andere als unkompliziert.

Try variations2 · more examples

  1. RU · Translation

    Её ответ совсем не успокаивал.

    EN · English

    Her response was anything but reassuring.

    DE · German

    Ihre Antwort war alles andere als beruhigend.

  2. RU · Translation

    В комнате было совсем не тихо.

    EN · English

    The room was anything but quiet.

    DE · German

    Das Zimmer war alles andere als ruhig.

Pattern graph

Continue with nearby patterns

GFF018Subject + be + not necessarily + complementGFFGFF006Not only did + subject + bare infinitive, but + subject + also + past verbGFFGFF016It is not + focused noun phrase + that + clause, but + replacement noun phraseGFFGFF001Not until + past clause + did + subject + bare infinitiveGFF