three times as pretty as

[hetzer]

Hi,
I hear "I am three times prettier than my sister." I thought the correct way of saying this is "I am three times as pretty as my sister." Which is correct? Or both are acceptable in English?
In my school days, the latter was what I learned. Is the first form grammatically correct?
Thank you in advance.

 

[tedmc]

They mean the same to me to mean someone is much more pretty than another.

 

[jutfrank]

Use the latter.

Who did you hear using the former?

 

[hetzer]

Thanks. I heard this first phrase from a friend living in America. She is not a native speaker of English. I noticed something wrong when I heard it, but I was not sure at that time. The latter was my English based on my education.
Thank you very much. I feel much more confident with your answer.

 

[hetzer]

Thank you. I know, as a non-native speaker, that this could convey the same meaning. I am not sure natives do use this kind of phrase.

 

[emsr2d2]

I would expect to hear either from native BrE speakers.

This is three times bigger than that.
This is three times as big as that.

 

[Rover_KE]

Which is correct? Or are both [STRIKE]are[/STRIKE] acceptable in English?

[STRIKE]Thank you in advance[/STRIKE] Unnecessary. Just click Thank after you get an answer.

 

[hetzer]

Some feel that 'three times prettier than' means 'four times as pretty as'.

Oh, that's interesting. I never thought like this. This is definitely new to me.
Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

hetzer, I expect you're aware that 'three times prettier' has no more precise a meaning than 'much prettier'.

Prettiness is subjective and not precisely quantifiable, as '9kg is three times heavier than 3kg' would be.

 

[emsr2d2]

... as '9kg is three times heavier than 3kg' would be.

I seem to recall an old thread explaining the difference between "XXX times ...er than" and "XXX times as [adj] as ...".

So, since maths isn't exactly my forte, does "9kg is three times as heavy as 3kg" mean the same as your version, Rover?