[Grammar] Comparative form

[divineacclivity]

Manhattan says the following are correct:
correct: Apples are more healthy to eat than caramels.
wrong: Ardian runs quicker than Jacob.
correct: Adrian runs more quickly than Jacob.
correct: Ardian runs faster than Jacob.

Is this also correct? If not, why?
Apples are healthier to eat than caramels.

Thank you!

 

[emsr2d2]

Manhattan says the following are correct:
correct: Apples are more healthy to eat than caramels.
wrong: Ardian runs quicker than Jacob.
correct: Adrian runs more quickly than Jacob.
correct: Ardian runs faster than Jacob.

Is this also correct? If not, why?
Apples are healthier to eat than caramels.

Thank you!

There's nothing wrong with "healthier". Why did you think it might be incorrect? In some cases you can add "more" to an adjective to make it a comparative, in some cases you can change the end to "-er" and in some cases you can do both.

 

[divineacclivity]

There's nothing wrong with "healthier". Why did you think it might be incorrect? In some cases you can add "more" to an adjective to make it a comparative, in some cases you can change the end to "-er" and in some cases you can do both.

Thank you. I thought so for the only reason that an example with "more healthy" was given in the Manhattan book and not with "healthier". Thanks much for clarifying.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Good morning,

(1) You may be interested in what Madames Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman say in their The Grammar Book:

"[The] -er form is more informal and the [more] form would be preferred in formal speech and writing."

(2) Thus, in speech, most native speakers would probably say "Vegetables are healthier than pastries." But if you were

writing a university-level article, "more healthy" might sound more impressive to the professor.

(3) Regarding "Adrian runs quicker than Jacob," it is true that the correct book English is "more quickly" because here you are

dealing with an adverb. ("Healthier" is an adjective.) I think that many native speakers would be astonished to be told that

"Adrian runs quicker than Jacob" is "wrong"! As you can imagine, many (most?) native speakers in speech do not want to take the

time to say "more quickly." Why? Because saying "quicker" is -- quicker! (adjective)

 

[JMurray]

@TheParser. Regarding your point (3), I had the same reaction. This adverbial use of "quicker" may be strictly incorrect but is very common in speech and perhaps is best defined as informal, as some dictionaries do.
It's more or less standard in cricket terminology, for example: "Thompson bowls quicker from the northern end with the breeze behind him".
Just as an aside, a specialist fast bowler will often be termed a "quick", as in: "It's a well balanced team with a leg-spinner, a medium-pacer and a couple of quicks". So the word does have a bit of a life of its own in the cricket context.

not a teacher

 

[Tdol]

The informal label is a useful measure- ran quicker is here to stay and labelling it as wrong in any context simply does not reflect usage.

 

[divineacclivity]

The informal label is a useful measure- ran quicker is here to stay and labelling it as wrong in any context simply does not reflect usage.

Tdol, I couldnt quite get your point. Could you please elaborate it a little more? Thank you!

 

[Tdol]

According to traditional grammars, many things native speakers say are incorrect- ran quicker/If I was you, etc. Given how common they are, many teachers get round the problem by saying that these are OK in informal usage rather than saying that they are wrong or that the grammars are wrong.

 

[divineacclivity]

According to traditional grammars, many things native speakers say are incorrect- ran quicker/If I was you, etc. Given how common they are, many teachers get round the problem by saying that these are OK in informal usage rather than saying that they are wrong or that the grammars are wrong.

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Alright, I get it now. Thank you so much!