1

Now, I have posted related questions to what I'm about to post right now.

Things in our country were worse then than how bad things are in certain parts of Liberia.

Things in our country were worse then than things are in certain parts of Liberia.

If I used the former sentence, would it be deemed grammatically incorrect? Would it be okay to use the former sentence on paper? Do they mean the same?

Improve this question
10
  • The sentence with how is bad. ... things were worse then than they are now in ....
    – TimR
    Commented Nov 25, 2016 at 21:02
  • No, you're comparing things with how. Maybe by some stretch it could be called grammatical in the same way that smearing feces on the wall could be called painting.
    – TimR
    Commented Nov 25, 2016 at 21:06
  • ell.stackexchange.com/questions/108060/… @TRomano
    – lekon chekon
    Commented Nov 25, 2016 at 21:12
  • You were told that there that the sentence was unidiomatic. And Araucaria may have thought it an interesting question, but he didn't say it was a good sentence.
    – TimR
    Commented Nov 25, 2016 at 21:14
  • How you say that word is not the same as how she says it. Awkward, but at least how is being compared to how. Your pronunciation of that word is different from how she says it.
    – TimR
    Commented Nov 25, 2016 at 21:15

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

how alone expresses manner

I like how you say those words, "tins of tuna".

or a way of being

You will never fully appreciate how things were during the war.

how + modifier expresses degree:

It is not known at this time how badly the car was damaged.

How alone can be used as a comparand with a phrase that also expresses manner:

Her pronunciation of that word is clearer than how you say it.

Simpler would be "Her pronunciation of that word is clearer than yours". Things can stray into marginal territory when a simple parallel pronoun is avoided and a noun is compared with how.

Life now is much better than how it was during the war.marginal

Life now is much better than it was during the war.

It is possible to compare the degree of one thing to the degree of another, so that how + modifier can be used in a comparison with another how + modifier. The words of comparison will not be a simple comparative but will create a new predicate:

How poorly she sings is nothing compared to how badly you cook.

How stubborn she is is less troubling to us than how lazy you are.

How poorly she sings is less a problem than how poorly you sing (because she dances very well and you can't dance at all.)

Improve this answer
0

As a native speaker the how bad part of the sentence makes the whole sentence disjointed.

I applaud your attempt, however the sentence overall compares how bad things are in both Liberia and your country, therefore it is already saying things are bad in certain parts of Liberia. How you join the 2 parts together to make the comparison is where you seem to have the problem.

I would rephrase the sentence by saying, "Things in our country were worse then, than how bad things they are in certain parts of Liberia."

Things in our country were worse then than how bad things are in certain parts of Liberia.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .