Is it grammatical to use a comparative form with a definite article?

Question

A: Whose book is this? Yours? B: Oh, it's Mark's. Mine is -----.

I know * Mine is thinner.* is correct. How about Mine is the thinner. Is it grammatical to add the article?

Thanks a lot.

as in 'the thinner book often contains less words.'? yes it is. — JMP, May 12 '17 at 06:42
In this type of usage, you would usually say, "Mine is the thinner one". — satnam, May 12 '17 at 06:52

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered May 17 '17 at 20:15

You can say "Mine is the thinner." It is uncommon, and sounds a little poetic, but it isn't wrong, and would be universally understood by native speakers.

With superlatives, what you are proposing is more common. I would have a hard time coming up with a general preference between the following three sentences:

We both have thin cats, but... mine is thinnest. [OR]...mine is the thinnest one. [OR]...mine is the thinnest.

With comparatives, the three forms are all correct, but the first two are more common:

We both have thin cats. Mine is thinner. [OR] Mine is the thinner one. <--More common

We both have thin cats. Mine is the thinner. <-- Less common, but acceptable.

With absolutes, however, you can't use all three of those constructions

We both have cats. Mine is thin. [OR] Mine is the thin one. <---Fine

We both have cats. Mine is the thin. <-- NOT OK

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered May 17 '17 at 19:34

0

Satnam has the answer here. Generally you would put an object after the adjective. "Mine is the thinner one." would be the best way of expressing the idea.

answered May 17 '17 at 19:34

Adam Blomeke

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Is it grammatical to use a comparative form with a definite article?

2 Answers2