Questions tagged [comparative]
For questions about the construction in sentences where two or more things are compared with each other, e.g. "I am taller than you".
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than (it) seems/appears
(1a) These boxes contain more toys than it seems possible. — as far as I know, it's correct
(1b) These boxes contain more toys than seems possible. — is it correct?
(2a) These boxes contain more toys ...
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Omission of verbs in 'the more... the more...' construction
Recently I found the following phrase in an English guide book:
In all regions except Southeast Asia it can be seen that the higher
the consumption of cigarettes, the higher the tobacco-related
...
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What's the comparative and superlative of shy and dry?
What's the comparative and superlative of shy and dry?
I've found you can either keep the y or change it for ier / iest.
shyer - shyest or shier- shiest
Dryer -dryest or drier - driest
Also more shy ...
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the absence of infinitives after "than"
The question is about the than-sentences which have an infinitive at the end and about why the absence of infinitive can make a sentence incorrect.
oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com:
(1) They are not ...
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"The dose is higher than the doctors thought (was) necessary" [duplicate]
Source:
(1a) The dose is higher than is necessary.
(1b) The dose is higher than necessary. - without "is"
(2a) The dose is higher than the doctors thought was necessary.
(2b) The dose is ...
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"I read <more> books <more> than magazines." — parsing
(1a) I read books more than magazines. — correct
"More" in (1a) modifies "read".
(1b) I read books more than I do/did magazines. — correct
Since (1b) exists, then "than" ...
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"He is more than a friend is"
(1a) He is taller than his friend. — correct
(1b) He is taller than his friend is. — as I know, (1b) is also correct, although less common than (1a)
(2a) He is more than a friend. — correct
(2b) He is ...
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This fact makes the Korean language much simpler than English is
My sentences:
(1a) Bob read more books than Fred. — We compare two nouns: "Bob" and "Fred".
(1b) Bob read more books than Fred did. — We compare two phrases: "Bob read" ...
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They praise her more than do him [closed]
(1) They praise her more than him. — correct but ambiguous because can mean both (2) and (3)
(2) They praise her more than he praises her. — correct
(2a) They praise her more than he does. — correct
I ...
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"than is introversion"
I came across this sentence from a psychology article: "If extraversion is so much more beneficial (at least superficially) than is introversion, then why isn't everyone an extravert?" (...
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It's better / it's best
Should a comparative or a superlative be used in this sentence? Why?
In my experience, it's better / it's best to have only one best friend who is reliable.
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Question on comparative
This is one of the etymologies of 'whale' in Moby Dick:
Whale It is more immediately from the Dut. and Ger. Wallen; a.s. Walw-ian, to roll, to wallow.
What does 'immediately' mean here, and why is ...
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What does 'did' refer to?
What is your favorite color? Do you often wear fashion items in that color? As for me, my favorite color is green, but I felt it did not go well with my skin tone, so I used to avoid wearing it. One ...
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He wrote more novels than she (wrote) songs
He wrote 5 novels, and she wrote 4 songs.
I think you can say:
a. He wrote more novels than she wrote songs.
b. He wrote more novels than she did songs.
Since the verb is repeated, can you omit it?
...
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(All the/None the/Any the/Much the) + comparatives
This topic is taken from Advanced Oxford Grammar by M. Swan. I'm just struggling as to how to use them and literally translate them into my native language sense. Some online dictionaries label them ...
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How to say that something is really important in general, but not as important as other things?
Although learning a foreign language is really important, it plays a
subordinate role in children's life compared with other components of education such as
social skills, intellect and craftsmanship.
...
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Comparison between quantities of several things
For academic writing, which of these three comparative styles is preferred, or more correct?
The mantle velocity of the China Craton is around 8 Km/s, similar to the typical cratons.
The mantle ...
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How to rephrase a long comprative sentence
I am trying to state a comparative argument in a long sentence for an academic paper. I don't want to split it. Is there any way for shortening it? Is it always necessary to use "those of the&...
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"They are more convenient and reliable." vs "They are more convenient, and reliable."
They are more convenient and reliable.
They are more convenient, and reliable. <--- [I'm not sure that this sentence is natural.]
Am I right that in the first sentence the adjective is "more ...
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"No, more than that." --> "No, more expensive.", "More expensive.", "No, more.", "More."?
How much did your shoes cost? ₤60? - No, more than that.
Is it natural to say instead of "No, more than that.":
"No, more expensive.",
"More expensive.",
"No, more.&...
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"much more than" vs "more often than"
You go out much more than I do.
You go out more often than I do.
Do these sentences have the same meaning? If I translate them into my native language, it seems they have the same meaning.
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Usage of "comparative + Than" as an adverb
In a formal writing, can the sentence:
I became more interested in mathematics than physics.
be rephrased as:
I became interested in mathematics more than physics.
Do they both have the same ...
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have a hat like John
Could a be used to mean b?
a. Sam has a hat like John.
b. Sam has a hat like John's.
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The word order of a comparative phrase seems strange
I have seen the following paragraph in some article:
One can imagine a computer simulation of the action of peptides in the hypothalamus that is accurate down to the last synapse. But equally one can ...
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Inflections of the adverb 'well' (some senses are invariable)
Inflections of the adverb 'well' (Some senses are invariable)
Better adv comparative ; best adv superlative
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/well
What does the dict. refer to by "Some ...
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Lesser is to less, as ___ is to more? What's the equivalent of "morer"?
I'm resurrecting this comment.
What Syntactic Categories or terms distinguish "less" and "lesser"? "Comparative form" isn't the answer, because Less, lesser, and littler ...
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'' Think'' and '' Find'' in a comparative sentence
I know that the structure '' Find something/ someone + Adj'' can be rewritten using '' Think someone/ something + to be + Adj''.
I find this book interesting= I think this book is interesting.
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Cheap products are often inferior/ more inferior
Cheap products are often_______
Options: A.more inferior/ B.much inferior / C.inferior / D.very inferior
The given answer is inferior
Is inferior already in comparative degree? So that "more&...
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What is the comparative of the adjective "manual"?
I am wondering what is the comparative of "manual", the adjective that expresses doing something involving or using human effort.
Is it correct to say: "If you want want to achieve that ...
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little higher than
a. He aspires to little higher praise than being called a good writer.
a1. He doesn't aspires to much higher praise than being called a good writer.
(Being called a good writer is basically enough for ...
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How to distingush the meaning of comparative sentences
My apologize if the tittle is little confusing. So let's just focus on these couple examples:
I've never been on a bumpier plane ride.
Options:
a. The flight was bumpy
b. The flight wasn't bumpy
...
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The ... the ... structure: Is this sentence correct?
I would like to know if the following sentence is a correct usage of the ... the ... structure:
The more the same products people can buy across the globe, the more
similar countries are becoming. I ...
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Why must "other" be used in "Iron is more useful than any other metal"? [duplicate]
When two objects are compared with each other, the latter term of comparison must exclude the former, as in "Iron is more useful than any other metal". If we say "Iron is more useful ...
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more greasy food
a. I eat more greasy food than he does.
Is that sentence ambiguous?
I think it could mean
I eat food that is more greasy than he food he eats.
and
I eat a bigger amount of greasy food than he does.
...
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By far + comparative
Could someone please let me know whether "by far" can be used comparatively.
Actually, almost all dictionary examples have used it in a superlative comparison, however I'm quite sure I have ...
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Comparative illusion - Why is it ungrammatical?
I read that the sentence:
"More people have been to Russia than I have"
is a comparative illusion and in particular ungrammatical.
I do not understand which grammatical rule(s) it violates (...
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Tom is the best tennis player in the club
There was one question in my English exam that made confused me.
Instruction: Rewrite this sentence in another way so that it means almost the same as the first one
Tom is the best tennis player in ...
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"New" adjective in comparative form
There's a rule about one-syllable adjectives that end in a single vowel and a consonant, that duplicates the consonant in the comparative form:
big --> bigger
hot --> hotter
I've been asking ...
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Is it correct to say 'I am moving these elements *earlier* in the list'?
I am coding and have some elements in a list. Now I want to move a couple of elements so they appear before.
So form [a, b, c, d, e, this, that] i want "this" and "that" to show ...
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Negative comparative
For making comparative forms of adjectives, we add “more” before adjectives with more than one syllable and other than those two-syllable adjectives ending in “y”. So for example:
“This watch is more ...
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Can we use adverbs with comparative adjectives as in:
He is much taller than me.
Vs
He is incredibly taller than me.
I know the first sentence is correct, but I was wondering if we could use Incredibly with a comparative adjective (taller).
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"than compared to" or "than that of" in comparative?
I got stuck by the following sentence, which can be found here:
If we generate the column proportions, we can see that a higher fraction of plain text emails are spam(209/1195 = 17.5%) than compared ...
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Can I say "less bigger" or "more weaker" and similar phrases?
Suppose that
A is bigger than B
B is bigger than C
Now, is it fine if I say,
Compared to A, B is less bigger than C?
If so, in this context, can I remove the first part in the almost formal ...
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Clause after "Than" in comparatives?
Can I use a clause after Than?
You are better than when you were yesterday.
People have more chances of dying when they don't fasten their seatbelts than when they do.
You're faster than ...
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Should I use "away" after "Farthest/Farther?"
I wish to know if it is okay to use "away" after the superlative/comparative forms of "Far" since I have come across this sentence:
I am the farthest from the grace of my family members.
Is this ...
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Is it natural to use "older" about someone without comparing his age to someone else?
An older man came in the door.
Is it natural to use "older" about someone without comparing his age to someone else? If yes, would it be interchangeable with "old"?
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The ambiguous meaning of "He is better."
In A Comprehensive Grammar of The English Language, 7.77 comparison of good, well and ill, it says:
He is better. is ambiguous between:
(a) He is well again.
(b) He is less ill.
I can only ...
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Grammatical function of comparatives
Can we consider comparative form of adjectives as adjectives, grammatically? I mean, in the following sentence, is "thinner" an adjective?
"You look thinner."
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Any comparative adverbs here?
I have much more inspiration, and the editing would be easier.
Is "the editing" a gerund? If so, is "easier" being used as a comparative adjective?
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"Tank needs 8 minutes less" or "8 minutes lesser"
Is this question correct?
Tank needs 8 minutes less to empty the tank than it needs to fill it.
Should we use 'lesser' here as 'than' is used for comparison. Please clarify it.
