1. To say two things are the same*:

• 'as...as': Growth is as slow as it was last year.
• the same as: The Orion costs the same as the Golf.

Focus on Comparative Adjectives:

Pattern 1: single syllable adj + er
strong+re = stronger
long+er = longer
weak+er = weaker
big+er = bigger

e.g.: The Stronger the value of Australian dollar, and the longer it stays strong, the weaker our economic activity will be next year.