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I wonder which of the following is correct.

"A" outperforms "B" by two orders of magnitude.

and

"A" outperforms "B" two orders of magnitude.

Personally I think both are correct but I am not sure. In an answer to a related question, a sentence

"The computer was orders of magnitude better than the abacus."

"orders of magnitude" is used like an adverb which makes me think that my second sentence is also correct.

Matteo
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2 Answers2

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I consider the following to be correct...

"A" outperforms "B" by two orders of magnitude.

'orders of magnitude' in the above sentence is a noun, a quantity being specified and 'by' indicates the amount or size of a margin.

Similarly in the sentence

"The computer was orders of magnitude better than the abacus."

Orders of Magnitude is not an adverb, but a noun specifying a quantity. E.g.

X is 5 inches taller than Y

Replace '5 inches taller' with 'orders of magnitude better' and you would find no change in sentence structure.

abyshukla
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    Please consider adding an explanation of why you hold the view expressed in your response. Without such a clarification, readers have no basis for appraising the reliability of your opinion/judgment. – Sven Yargs Mar 20 '18 at 05:18
  • Thank you for the feedback. Explanation has been added. Do let me know if it's unclear. – abyshukla Mar 20 '18 at 06:46
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    Thank you for making the additional effort to clarify your thinking. – Sven Yargs Mar 20 '18 at 07:07
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You could say A outperforms B, but since you are adding the two orders of magnitude part, you should add the by.

Compare it with the word exceed, you could say A exceeds B, but when adding the latter part of your sentence (or any qualifier indicating by how much it exceeds), it is clearer when by is added.

A exceeds B by 20 meters

Therefore, in your case it would have to be:

A outperforms B by two orders of magnitude.

JJJ
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