A: Whose book is this? Yours? B: Oh, it's Mark's. Mine is -----.
I know * Mine is thinner.* is correct. How about Mine is the thinner. Is it grammatical to add the article?
Thanks a lot.
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Sign up to join this communityA: Whose book is this? Yours? B: Oh, it's Mark's. Mine is -----.
I know * Mine is thinner.* is correct. How about Mine is the thinner. Is it grammatical to add the article?
Thanks a lot.
You can say "Mine is the thinner." It is uncommon, and sounds a little poetic, but it isn't wrong, and would be universally understood by native speakers.
With superlatives, what you are proposing is more common. I would have a hard time coming up with a general preference between the following three sentences:
We both have thin cats, but... mine is thinnest.
[OR]
...mine is the thinnest one.[OR]
...mine is the thinnest.
With comparatives, the three forms are all correct, but the first two are more common:
We both have thin cats. Mine is thinner.
[OR]
Mine is the thinner one. <--More commonWe both have thin cats. Mine is the thinner. <-- Less common, but acceptable.
With absolutes, however, you can't use all three of those constructions
We both have cats. Mine is thin.
[OR]
Mine is the thin one. <---FineWe both have cats. Mine is the thin. <-- NOT OK
Satnam has the answer here. Generally you would put an object after the adjective. "Mine is the thinner one." would be the best way of expressing the idea.