Is it ok to place "better" like this?

Question

Can these two sentence be considered as having the same meaning? Also, is there any grammatical error in the latter one?

Because he's keeping an eye on his dark side, he's better able to keep it in check.

Because he's keeping an eye on his dark side, he's able to keep it in check better.

Better able (to) is something of a fixed phrase, since it makes people able to better avoid splitting infinitives, if that's their thing. — John Lawler, Jun 30 '22 at 18:16

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 30 '22 at 12:00

They are both grammatical. We tend to put better in the first position with short complements and the second position with long complements, so English speakers would tend not to use the starred sentences in the pairs below.

*With his new, expensive shoes, he's better able to run.
With his new, expensive shoes, he's able to run better.

With the reorganization, we are better able to respond to climate change and pursue sustainable development.
*With the reorganization, we are able to respond to climate change and pursue sustainable development better.

For your sentence, with an intermediate-length complement, both positions sound fine to me.

Is it ok to place "better" like this?

1 Answers1