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Thread: comparative adj.

  1. #1
    jimmu is offline Newbie
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    Default comparative adj.

    Hello,

    -Why do people think ps3 is some much more better then Xbox 360?

    I saw this sentence and I couldn't relise that why 'more' was written with 'better' .

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    Default Re: comparative adj.

    Quote Originally Posted by jimmu View Post
    -Why do people think ps3 is some much more better then Xbox 360?
    'Much more better' is wrong. It must be 'much better'.

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    jimmu is offline Newbie
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    Default Re: comparative adj.

    Question 2:

    To be more open.

    Why not opener?

    -“I’m trying to make the world a more open place.” by Mark Zuckerberg.

    Thank you...

    Can't we write like that?

    -“I’m trying to make the world a opener place.”

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    jahildebrandt is offline Junior Member
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    Default Re: comparative adj.

    Not a teacher.

    Quote Originally Posted by 5jj View Post
    'Much more better' is wrong. It must be 'much better'.
    This is true, however, when English is used colloquially, you'll often find examples like this. Consider it to be a dual modal, used to convey stronger meaning. On a scale it would look like this:

    Much more better > much better > better

    A prescriptivist would say that something can't be "more better" and that much better conveys the same meaning as the original. That's why it would be marked wrong.

    As for the second question, after a door has been opened, it can't be in a state of "more open," so to speak. The door may certainly open further, but it is still open. It's comparable to the idea that a woman who is 9 months pregnant is not "more pregnant" than a woman 6 months in. She is just further along in her pregnancy.

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    jimmu is offline Newbie
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    Default Re: comparative adj.

    thanks
    Last edited by jimmu; 09-Nov-2011 at 19:27.

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    Default Re: comparative adj.

    Quote Originally Posted by jahildebrandt View Post
    This is true, however, when English is used colloquially, you'll often find examples like this. Consider it to be a dual modal, used to convey stronger meaning. On a scale it would look like this:

    Much more better > much better > better

    A prescriptivist would say that something can't be "more better" and that much better conveys the same meaning as the original. That's why it would be marked wrong.
    No. It would be marked wrong because it is simply not accepted by most speakers as standard usage in the main varieties of English. I would strongly recommend that learners do not use this form.
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    Default Re: comparative adj.

    NOTE: When it comes to two-syllable adjectives, the case is less clear cut. With some two-syllable adjectives, -er/-est and more/most are both possible:

    The water here is shallower / more shallow than it is further up the beach.
    The grey squirrel is one of the most common / commonest rodents that you will see in England.

    Is this a right rule? If it is correct, does it comprise all the two-syllable adjectives?

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    Default Re: comparative adj.

    Quote Originally Posted by jimmu View Post
    NOTE: When it comes to two-syllable adjectives, the case is less clear cut. With some two-syllable adjectives, -er/-est and more/most are both possible:

    The water here is shallower / more shallow than it is further up the beach.
    The grey squirrel is one of the most common / commonest rodents that you will see in England.
    You are correct. Other examples are clever, common, polite.

    Some two-syllable adjectives have comparative/superlative forms only with 'more/most'. Examples include hopeless, tiring - and open. You can make the world a more open place, but not an opener one.
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