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."
326
questions
19
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3
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Is it "less than" or "lesser than"?
I often hear people say "less than", but shouldn't it be "lesser than"? Which one is correct?
15
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3
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Can fat change into muscle, or not? What does "Fat cannot change into muscle any more than muscle can change into fat." mean?
I have a problem with the interpretation of this sentence.
Fat cannot change into muscle any more than muscle can change into
fat.
I guess that it would mean either 1 or 2 below.
The change from ...
14
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7
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2k
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"were dumb as" similar to "were as dumb as"?
If they were as dumb as him, we would have a bigger mess in our hands.
If they were dumb as him, we would have a bigger mess in our hands.
I thought the second was completely fine until I used Google ...
13
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5
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It takes a bigger man to walk away from a fight
I found this sentence reading. But I didn't get the meaning. Could you explain it to me?
The sentence is:
It takes a bigger man to walk away from a fight than it does to stay and fight
It takes ...
10
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3
answers
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Seemingly unnecessary verbs in comparisons: "He runs faster than Robert (does)"
I've come across a strange habit in comparisons that seems to be pretty popular. Instead of saying (what I think to be correct):
He runs faster than Robert.
Sometimes I hear or read:
He runs ...
10
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7
answers
3k
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''You're tall as your father" is this sentence absurd?
You're as tall as your father.
I don't have as much money as you have.
If I omit the first 'as' is the sentence absurd or grammatically incorrect?
You're tall as your father.
I don't have ...
9
votes
4
answers
115k
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"More handsome" or "handsomer"?
Let's start from what I know as a rule: Bisyllabic adjectives normally have their comparative and superlative forms by putting more and the most before the adjective itself. There are some exceptions ...
8
votes
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 ...
8
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5
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"My pet's body size is like that of a rabbit" - or "like that of a rabbit's"? May we use the double possessive?
My pet's body size is like that of a rabbit's.
My pet's body size is like that of a rabbit.
Which is correct?
7
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2
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With what does ‘far fewer’ compare in this example?
We've already found more than a million species, but unearthing the
rest was thought to be an impossible task. But now it seems an army
of amateur scientists have taken up the cause. A new study ...
7
votes
2
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Does the phrase "more obvious" mean "just barely noticeable among many" in certain contexts?
Let me add some context here:
In Frank Herbert’s Dune, there is this sentence:
“I know the Dark Things and the ways of the Great Mother,” Jessica
said. She read the more obvious signs in Mapes’ ...
7
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2
answers
2k
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Converting from "too" to "enough"
I have this sentence:
It is too hot to handle.
How do I rewrite it using enough in place of too? Is the following right? Is there some other possibility?
It is not cold enough to handle.
What is ...
6
votes
3
answers
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A question about age comparison
John has two daughters, S and X.
S = 18 years old
X = 9 years old
Now, if I want to compare their ages, how do you say it naturally?
I have written these three sentences,
do they sound good ...
6
votes
1
answer
1k
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Can there be no 'a' between such and a noun?
When it comes to losing weight, a quick fix to would be nice, but we
know there’s no such [a] thing. (Aussie 7 News)
It sounds like there isn’t ‘a’ in the news. So I wonder if it be right when ...
6
votes
3
answers
668
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You're taller than (it) is described (Is the omission of 'it' obligatory?)
In an earlier question "You're taller than (is/are) described", there came up this issue of whether 'it' could be inserted as follows:
a. You're taller than it is described.
The grammar book that ...
6
votes
4
answers
7k
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"better" vs "best"
Given the following sentences:
It is better to stay here.
It is best to stay here.
Are both sentences correct? If yes, is there any difference of meaning between them?
I've always been taught the ...
5
votes
4
answers
645
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Can we invert comparative sentences?
In Russian we can easily invert comparative sentences but I'm having doubts about whether it is possible in English.
In Russian this works due to different comparatives "Чем" и "Тем".
Чем выше ...
5
votes
2
answers
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"a so enjoyable party" or "so enjoyable a party"
I did some exercises on http://www.examenglish.com/ and did surprisingly pretty well. At a certain stage, the sentence mentioned in the title came by. Since I would of course say "an enjoyable ...
5
votes
1
answer
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difference between twice as ... as and twice more than [duplicate]
Do both of the following sentences have the same meaning?
1- My salary is twice higher than yours.
2- My salary is twice as high as yours.
5
votes
3
answers
232
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Was Jeremy Corbyn making a comparison?
As reported by the BBC here, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is being accused of comparing the state of Israel to Islamic State (IS), he said
"Our Jewish friends are no more responsible for the ...
5
votes
3
answers
182
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“there’s more involved”—where’s the noun?
From the book Thinking in Java:
That is, you can do anything with a Biglnteger or BigDecimal that you can with an int or float, it's just that you must use method calls instead of operators. Also, ...
5
votes
1
answer
6k
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Can I say "in a same way"?
I've been told that the article for 'same' is always 'the', but sometimes I think it feels right to say 'in a same way' when I have not yet but am going to talk about the way or when I won't talk ...
5
votes
1
answer
395
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What is the subject when it's omitted after the comparison?
As market forces penetrate firms and bid up the value of attributes of labor that are more measurable than is the knowledge born of experience, it can be expected that trends in wages will not favor ...
5
votes
1
answer
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“… more suited.” vs “…more suitable.”
A student presented me this quiz question
I am no longer satisfied with my job, and I would really like to find something more ______
A) attracting C) suited
...
5
votes
3
answers
3k
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Is it 'lesser' or 'less' when describing an amount of water?
From the following sentences, which one is more grammatically correct?
Carbohydrates in diet need less amount of water in comparison to proteins and fats.
Carbohydrates in diet need lesser amount of ...
4
votes
2
answers
2k
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"More" and "most" with some adjectives
I rarely come upon adjectives being used strangely in comparative constructions.
Take the adjective "silent", sometimes I hear "more silent" and "most silent" although it isn't logical in any sense. ...
4
votes
1
answer
2k
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How do you say two or several things are about equivalent to each other in English?
How do you say two or several things are about equivalent to each other in English?
For example, if I post a question here and receive two answers which seem equally good to me, and I don't know ...
4
votes
2
answers
163
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Help understanding long sentence from NY times
"Hillary Clinton was running for president knowing all too well that a woman has to be twice as qualified to be perceived as once as good."
I'm confused by the sentence in bold.
There's so many as......
4
votes
1
answer
3k
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"Dole out the beatings" & "a pinky back into this pond"
John Wick: Hello, Winston.
Winston: Jonathan. Now, as I recall... weren't you the one tasked to
dole out the beatings, not receive them?
John Wick: Rusty, I guess.
Winston: To what do ...
4
votes
2
answers
10k
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"As important as" or "As importantly as"
I found a sentence in The Hindu ("The Two Faces of Mr. Modi")
As important as all the other qualities, we also expect rationality.
I think this sentence is not correct. It must be "importantly", ...
4
votes
1
answer
448
views
What does "more happy than surprised" mean, and why not use "happier than"?
Please tell me why people use comparative in this sentence. It is very strange to me.
The parents were more happy than surprised at the study result of their son.
Why don't they use "happier than ...
4
votes
1
answer
1k
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"The more ... the more" construction
I would like to find out how to say some things about the guitar.
I came up with this sentence:
The more the gauge ( of the strings) the more sustain it provides.
I felt there is something wrong. ...
4
votes
1
answer
442
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as has happened
Doing justice to the phenomenon of mass evil poses a host of ticklish problems. You can get lost in a catalogue of numbers, losing the sense of individual lives being randomly terminated. Or, as has ...
4
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1
answer
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Ellipsis in Comparatives (CGEL 2002)
She is older than I am.
She is right more often than the others are.
( CGEL page 1108-1109).
The authors said the reduction in 1 is obligatory but 2 is optional (...more than others are right). What ...
4
votes
6
answers
2k
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"No more than" — comparing two clauses
I came across this sentence today:
Even she, who believed herself to be a revolutionary, could no more have broken her marital bangles than she could have driven a stake through her husband's heart....
4
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1
answer
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Is it wrong to use "more X than Y" structure before verbs?
Is it wrong to use more.. than structure before verbs?
For example :
They more talk than work.
This product has been more produced than consumed.
I want to more take action than make ...
3
votes
3
answers
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Where is the subject in "[...] weaker than would otherwise have been the case"?
Where is the subject in the following dependent clause?
[...] Germany adopted a much weaker currency than would otherwise have been the case [...] (taken from BBC News)
Is "the case" the subject? ...
3
votes
3
answers
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"three times as much as" vs. "three times more"
1. She earns three times as much as I.
2. She earns three times more than I.
Are these two sentences grammatically correct?
3
votes
2
answers
430
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Is such writing okay in the sentence?
We don't have to worry much, for with as so small an amount as is in his possession he won't go far and we'll eventually catch him.
I've made up this sentence and I'd like to know if the "for with as ...
3
votes
2
answers
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is "Cleaner the room is Healthier it will be" grammatically correct?
Is this correct if I write "Cleaner the room is Healthier it will be".
Is it saying If my room is cleaner today, it will improve my health in future (as there is 'Healthier it will be').
If so, ...
3
votes
2
answers
561
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Is the second "about" required in "…says as much about you as it does (about) them"?
Deciding whom you choose as your friends says as much about you as it does them.
(From a test)
I'm thinking if the sentence is missing a word:
Deciding whom you choose as your friends says as much ...
3
votes
3
answers
65
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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 ...
3
votes
2
answers
103
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'A better striker was playing for them than we have.'
[Source:] Comparative subordination
Examples of the comparative that do not allow an analysis in terms of coordination (because the necessary parallel structures are not present) are instances of ...
3
votes
1
answer
141
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A is as [adjective] as B does?
The very beginning sentence of an IELTS essay, said to have achieved the full band score, reads:
Perhaps no subject in the world is as likely to cause so much controversy as advertising does.
...
3
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1
answer
274
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The white car is ____ more expensive than the green
The white car is _________ more expensive than the green
(Options: very, pretty, fairly, slightly).
The answer given is slightly. Could you explain why this option is given as the correct one and ...
3
votes
2
answers
87
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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....
3
votes
1
answer
97
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Can you clear my this confusion between "no" and "not"?
I have seen sentences like:
They ask for money no less than Rs 2,000.
He was looking weird? No weirder than usual.
I wonder should "not" had been in place of "no". Are they interchangeable?
3
votes
2
answers
249
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"$25 more than" vs "$25 more than what"?
"But that e-mail - the one he'd overlooked - said his clients were supposed to be paid $425 million - $25 million more than he'd written in the contract."
I think the last part of the sentence "$25 ...
3
votes
1
answer
284
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"The more conditions I impose, the less likely <is he> <he is> to agree." — Why is it possible to use the inversion here? Are there any rules?
The question is about inversion in the correlative comparative construction.
Found this line in The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (ch.13 #4.6)
The more conditions I impose, the less ...
2
votes
2
answers
256
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They kill as many people as not: what words are omitted?
I found the following sentence:
they kill as many people as not.
In this case, they account for success and fame in publication.