Questions tagged [comparative-constructions]
For questions about expressing comparisons between two or more entities or groups. The comparison could be about degree, quantity, or quality. For example, "You're tall as your father." or "This one is better than that one."
323
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Beginning a sentence with "adj + as" [closed]
Is the following sentence, where the beginning starts with "adj + as", grammatical?
Knowledgeable and experienced as the old CEO is, the new, younger one seems to be more fitted to perform ...
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2
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Odd Comparative Structure: "X is better than Y is better than Z"
For context, here's the relevant paragraph
From my chats with low-level IRGC functionaries, I understood there to
be a ranking of sorts as to which foreign prisoners fetch the highest
price. Complete ...
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2
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1
answer
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Why is inversion used in "...than do apes in the wild"?
I wanted to know why there is inversion in the last part of the following sentence.
Apes raised by humans seem to protect more frequently than do apes in the wild.
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Is 'less riskier than' correct or 'less risky than'?
Using comparative forms while making comparisons only seems natural. However, Microsoft Word (Office 365) suggests 'less risky than' over 'less riskier than'. I know I can replace it with 'safer than' ...
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Double comparatives [duplicate]
As I know, "spend" has different structures:
Spend time V-ing/ Spend time on sth
She spends a lot of time working. She feels stressed.
If I use Double comparatives, this sentence will be :
...
user81242
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Should 'do' after 'than' be inverted in this sentence?
That is, Strangers stand further apart than acquaintances do is ungrammatical? I have often encountered inverted clauses after than, as, so in comparatives, so the sentence above seems - at least to ...
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They had a better understanding of A than (they had) (an understanding) of B
a. But earlier on, American intelligence officials said they often had a better understanding of Russia's military plans than of Ukraine's. (Source: The New York Times)
Is it possible to use these ...
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2
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What parts of speech are the words used in comparative clauses?
I would be grateful if someone could answer me what parts of speech the following words are labeled: "more" in each of A1-A5; "than" in all of A1-A5; the first and second "as&...
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“no sooner A than B” is a fixed expression but can ‘when’ be interchangeable with ‘than’?
The following sentence is from Merriam-Webster
I had no sooner walked through the door when the phone rang.
As I know, 'no sooner' goes with 'than', though 'scarcely/hardly' goes with 'when'
Is the ...
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3
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Is this sentence clear: "More of them say they want a job than are officially unemployed."
This is from the BBC Re-hiring retired people
"...these people are called "economically inactive". In fact, more of them say they want a job (1.7 million people) than are officially ...
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What is the structural difference between "Do they sing ?" and "Would they sing" ? (interrogative sentence)
Somehow i don't know how to describe the structural difference between them. Can someone help me? (Thanks for help)
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2
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copula omission in the comparative correlative construction
I was told the verb "be" (and its variants) can be omitted in the "the comparative..., the comparative..." construction. How about the following? Could the verb be omitted there?
...
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3
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"As many as 100.000 nurses" vs "Around/about/almost/nearly 100.000 nurses"? Are they the same?
This is from a CNN article:
As many as 100,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing will walk out across England, Wales and Northern Ireland on Thursday.
When I read the sentence, "as many ...
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1
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Comparative without following noun
Travelers will have longer to switch over to a REAL ID, avoiding for now what many fliers anticipated would be a major hassle.
The original article is this.
I understand it as '... have longer time ...
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at an earlier age than
Could one use
a. He'll graduate from college earlier than all of his relatives.
b. He'll graduate from college sooner than all of his relatives.
c. He'll graduate from college before all of his ...
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Is it a mistake to say 'Greg is taller than me in our class'?
I know it's not common to say like that , but is it a mistake.
Let's say we've got a question "Who is taller than you in your class?", is it ok to answer "Greg is taller than me IN MY ...
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'Your English is as good as Shakespeare.' Is it a correct sentence?
Your English is as good as Shakespeare
...told me an online test that assessed my vocabulary. However, I think the structure of this comparison is wrong. It should rather be 'your English is as good ...
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2
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Using '(the) most' with uncountable nouns
Is it correct to say:
The most money was spent on education.
Saudi Arabia produced the most oil.
And is there a difference between using the most and just most in the aforementioned examples? Is it ...
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1
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How to compare the same thing
I first wrote this and then realized I'm not comparing the same thing. "It" refers to "the amount of lamb consumed". That's to say, I'm comparing consumption with meats. What I ...
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comparatives + "in comparison to"/"compared to"
Can we use a comparative (e.g. bigger or more difficult) with "compared to" or "in comparison to"? is There are contradictory disputes, answers, and examples on the Internet ...
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0
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any more of a detailed description
a. You can't get any more of a detailed description of that event than what has been published in our newspaper.
I'd have said 'any more detailed description of that event'. I wonder if (a) works. I ...
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1
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4
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(1) I have as much money as you do vs (2) I have money as much as you do
(1) I have as much money as you do VS (2) I have money as much as you do
I can guess that the sentence (1) and (2) means a little bit different.
I'm sure that (1) makes sense
What I want to know is [...
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1
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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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1
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102
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"ten more percent" or "ten percent more" in a sentence
He is determined to get _______ of the profit than he has been offered.
Should I put "ten percent more" or "ten more percent" in the blank? Or, either is fine?
Thanks!
1
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1
answer
27
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Are these "not only...but..."structures right or wrong and why?
I have been taught that the same parts of speech should be used in "not only..but...". However, Vanessa used these examples and I was puzzled.
Example 1.
It is not only difficult to find a ...
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3
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"If extraversion is so much more beneficial ... than is introversion" - why not "than introversion is"?
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?
If I were the ...
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3
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Is "far + adjective + than" a correct variant of "far more + adjective + than"?
Starting from a locution similar to "far more dangerous than...", I wonder if the "more" can be omitted, as in "far dangerous than".
I suspect that's not standard English,...
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2
answers
37
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Comparison with as and than in the same sentence
For Chips, in any social or academic sense, was just as respectable, but no more brilliant, than Brookfield itself.
(Ref. Novella Chips, Chapter # 2 )
In this sentence there is a comparison between ...
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Confusion with more
Read the following sentences.
He has more useful information.
The sentence meant that the information was more useful.
If I want to tell the information is more, what do I say?
I think
I have more ...
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1
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A question about a comparative construction
I have known that an adjective of a positive degree is always omitted in a subordinate clause of a comparative sentence like the following
*He is taller than I am (tall)
I happened upon a phrase ...
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than (what/those)
This is a more carefully researched article than I have read this semester.
This is a more carefully researched article than what I have read this semester.
This is a more carefully researched ...
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1
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1
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Question on comparative constructions
Which of the following is preferred? Please let me know if the answer varies between spoken and written English.
1- The death rates for women are lower than men at all ages.
2- The death rates for ...
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It is the first time I have done something and I did it for the first time. Which is grammatical?
There's this construction in English:
It is the first (second, third etc.) time I have done something.
It was the first (second, third etc.) time I had done something.
So I'm wondering whether the ...
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Why is ( the better the job ) = the correct choice?
Why is ( the better the job ) = the correct answer ?
The more I know, ....... I will get.
the better job
the better the job ( the correct choice )
more job '
Link : https://www.grammar-quizzes....
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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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2
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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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1
answer
49
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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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Construction of comparative sentences
Which of the following is correct/preferred?
1- Some have better chances of joining the final group than do others.
2- Some have better chances of joining the final group than others.
Does the ...
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1
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Agreement in comparative clause
Those men actually run faster than have/has been expected.
Someone argued that the verb should agree with "those men", thus taking the plural form. But I think the understood subject of ...
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0
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Omission in Comparative clause
everyone.
He dances better than sings.
I have doubts on the omission of a subject after "than". Can I say it as a shortening of:
He dances better than he sings.
Thanks if you would help.
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Comparative clause
I was watching a movie where The main character said to his friend
"I am disturbed to find that I had more of a childhood than you did."
Why he said 'you did' after 'than' normally we use '...
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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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1
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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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Is "as much as" used correctly in this sentence?
Is the following sentence correct and clear?
The report shows that 7 to 10 years old children eat almost as much
greasy food as 10 to 13-year-olds.
Is the following a better version? Does it mean ...
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"In England it isn’t so cold as in Russia." vs "England isn’t so cold as Russia." vs "It's not so cold in England as it is in Russia."
In England it isn’t so cold as in Russia.
England isn’t so cold as Russia.
It's not so cold in England as it is in Russia.
Are all of the sentences fine? As I understand it, the third version is the ...
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Does "as, well, as" mean "as well as" or "as"?
The context
In fact, those people were probably disappointed when they saw another show that didn’t contain something as, well, as elaborate or exciting.
Sentence A.
when they saw another show that ...
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Meaning of "I'm harder to forget than I was to leave."
In Taylor Swift's I bet you think about me, a lyrical line says
I'm harder to forget than I was to leave.
I've been thinking about the meaning for a while and come up with the following explanation:
...
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the closer humans get to them
How do you analyze "the closer humans get to them" in relation to the rest of the sentence? I thought it requires a comparative in the main clause, but there's none.
Have you ever heard a ...
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more than usually
Can one use (a) instead of (b)?
a. He worked more rapidly than usually.
b. He worked more rapidly than he usually does.
I use (b). I am not sure (a) is correct.
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