Tell me please if I constructed the following sentence correctly:
There are 5 times more men in the club than women.
I heard people say:
There are 5 times as many men in the club as women.
Tell me please if my sentence sounds natural.
asked Oct 7, 2018 at 13:32
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1With five times both constructions are fine. But with, for example, twice, you can only use ...as many, not more. (And never ever think of using thrice in such contexts today! :)– FumbleFingersOct 7, 2018 at 14:32
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2 Answers
Both of your example sentences
There are 5 times more men in the club than women.
There are 5 times as many men in the club as women.
are correct, meaning that for every female member there are five male members.
But for other comparisons, you will need to say it in a specific way
There are twice more men in the club as women.
There are double the number of men in the club as women.
There are twice as many men in the club as women.
and
There are triple the number of men in the club as women.
There are quadruple the number of men in the club as women.
but once you get over 4, the pattern becomes your example sentences.
If you need to keep the pattern the same throughout your comparison, you might say
Women are outnumbered 2 to 1 in the club.
Women are outnumbered 3 to 1 in the club.
Women are outnumbered 5 to 1 in the club.
Women are outnumbered 100 to 1 in the club.
Your sentence sounds perfectly natural.
You can use the same form for any number, but see the answer given by 'Peter' for some nice ways to vary your writing.
