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He is as clever if not cleverer than his brother.

Ranjeet is as fast as or perhaps faster than Rohit.

Are both these sentences correct?

As per Wren And Martin High School English Grammar And Composition (BY N.D.V. PRASADA RAO S. CHAND) The first sentence is better like this:

He is as clever as his brother, if not cleverer.

Or like this:

He is as clever as, if not cleverer than, his brother.

(Chapter No-22 Conjunction.Page 255, example: This is as good as that, if not better.)

Now in second sentence conjunction OR has been used so can I use the punctuation comma here too? If I can, then how can the 2nd sentence be right?

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  • 1
    Yes, they are both correct.
    – J.R. ♦
    May 11, 2014 at 8:14
  • For the first sentence, this question is relevant: english.stackexchange.com/questions/47756/…. As for the second sentence, I believe that writing it as "Ranjeet is as fast as, or perhaps faster than Rohit." is better, and a comma after than is optional.
    – Damkerng T.
    May 12, 2014 at 13:39

1 Answer 1

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It would be more correct to write the second sentence as:

Ranjeet is as fast as, or perhaps faster than, Rohit.

Like your example, the sentence should surround its modifying clause with commas to separate it's logic from the logic of the sentence.

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  • Why? The commas don't separate it's [sic] logic; it's a style choice. The embedded phrase is coordinated at that level anyway.
    – jimsug
    Jun 17, 2014 at 3:00
  • 1
    It is a style choice, but I think most style guides would go with the one that has extra commas. It's not wrong to write it without commas, but it may be, shall we say, disfavored among certain circles.
    – tsleyson
    Jun 29, 2014 at 3:44
  • The commas show that it's an aside or digression from the main thought, which is "Ranjeet is as fast as Rohit."
    – wordsmythe
    Jul 11, 2014 at 20:36

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