Which one is more correct:
“Ageing is more and more difficult for many people”
or
“Ageing is the more and more difficult for many people”
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2Aging... Also, aging is the easiest thing in the world for every single person out there. It happens without them even having to think about it.– JimApr 25, 2019 at 0:36
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1Don't use the with the comparative (more, less, X-er than). The is only used with the superlative (the most, the least, the X-est of). Also, do you really mean to say that humans have more difficulty growing old than they used to?– John LawlerApr 25, 2019 at 2:49
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1@JohnLawler "The more the merrier."– KatyApr 25, 2019 at 4:32
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1@Katy: "The (comparative), the (comparative)" is a special construct, which is not used in this context.– virolinoApr 25, 2019 at 6:35
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1@virolino, Yes, but my comment was to indicate that the is not "only" used with superlatives. The more accurate we can be, the better.– KatyApr 25, 2019 at 7:15
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1 Answer
The answer is simple. Once you notice that "more and more" is just a "form" of "more", and "more" is the comparative of "much / many", then it becomes obvious that "the" is totally misplaced.
Therefore the following is correct:
“Ageing is more and more difficult for many people”