English Language Learners Stack Exchange
English Language Learners Stack Exchange

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".

For questions about the construction in sentences where two or more things are compared with each other. Examples:

148 questions
6
votes
1 answer

"such that" & "such as to", "so...that" &"so...as to", "such...that" &"such ...as to"

If the subjects of the main clause and the subordinate clause are the same, we could simplify "such that" to "such as to", for example 1a Her voice was such that it made everyone stare. → 1b Her voice was such as to make everyone stare. But we…
April
  • 3,023
  • 15
  • 48
  • 62
3
votes
2 answers

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

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.
Ann Wang
  • 31
  • 1
2
votes
1 answer

Help understanding the differences between more than/about and most/all of

I am very confused when doing homework because there are four sentences which are really alike but my teacher said that they are different and I still don't understand why. "More than three-fourths of the world's mail is written in English" …
Cinder Nguyen
  • 111
  • 1
  • 3
  • 11
2
votes
1 answer

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 him and he doesn't need much higher praise.) b.…
azz
  • 2,917
  • 1
  • 16
  • 29
2
votes
5 answers

The nuance of 'young' and 'younger' in this context

While reading Swan's Practical English Usage, I came across this sentence I don't do much sport now, but I did play football when I was younger. Why comparative younger? Simply young could have worked there, couldn't it? Or, does it mean that…
Maulik V
  • 66,059
  • 109
  • 310
  • 456
2
votes
1 answer

Comparative or superlative with plural

Let's sat I have a set of 10 different positive numbers. I want to pick the 4 with the smaller (or smallest?) value. Should I say "the four smaller values" or "the four smallest values"? In other words, which of the following is correct? 1, 2, 3, 4…
orestis21
  • 121
  • 1
1
vote
2 answers

Is it correct to say "with less"?

When I want to refer to something (which has the least amount of something), is it correct to say "with less"? For example: The house with less windows in the town.
OiciTrap
  • 111
  • 6
1
vote
2 answers

Comparatives and superlatives

Can I say for instance “it's totally more important,” or is that wrong and that word totally doesn't work there? Do we only have a certain range of words which we can use when creating comparatives and superlatives?
train bee 282
  • 425
  • 5
1
vote
1 answer

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 are all comparative forms of little. What's the equivalent of "more" in terms…
user8712
1
vote
1 answer

What does this quote mean? BY SHAW

Man is the only animal which esteems itself rich in proportion to the number and voracity of its parasites. compared with the number and voracity of man's parasites, man considers himself rich?
user8153
1
vote
2 answers

Definite article "the" with comparative degree

I came across a sentence using definite article 'the' with comparative degree and an other sentence with out "the". Can anyone explain when to use 'the' with comparative degree? Here are the sentences: Which one of the twins is the smarter? Which…
Opal
  • 157
  • 7
1
vote
1 answer

When can we use "the" with comparatives?

I have already found in a book this rule: The comparative structure includes the only when the comparative takes a noun position, example: I like the smaller of the two. May you explain me this rule and give more examples? Because I do not…
Jesus Ruiz Escalona
1
vote
1 answer

What does this comparative mean?

“Your Honor”.I raised my voice.“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I assure you that my master, Dennis Swift, in no way acted inappropriately around this young lady, Annika. It was clear to me that she loved him more than anything in the world, and…
Listenever
  • 24,139
  • 38
  • 136
  • 254
1
vote
2 answers

I have more houses than "you" or "yours"?

I have more houses than you. I have more houses than yours. Which one is right? Can you please explain why?
user57916
  • 13
  • 2
1
vote
2 answers

This book is comparatively cheap/cheaper than that one

I am confused at the usage of (comparatively+than). Please guide.
Minaam Farooq
1
2