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comparative...

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nautes20

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Oct 23, 2004
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Hi,

A question about "comparative".

*He is more clever than wise.

Could you tell me the reason why don't you use "He is cleverer than wiser."?


Best regards...:-D
 

Casiopea

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nautes20 said:
Could you tell me the reason why don't you use "He is *cleverer than wiser"?
clever is a two-syllable word.

The general rule is as follows: add -er and –est to one-syllable words and to two-syllable words ending in –y. The rest get more and most.
 

nautes20

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Oct 23, 2004
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Thanks for the answer...

You wrote:
clever is a two-syllable word.

The general rule is as follows: add -er and –est to one-syllable words and to two-syllable words ending in –y. The rest get more and most.

But I think "He is more clever than wise." is correct.
This sentence is not similar to "He is cleverer than Tom."
I learned we add "more" to clever in case we compare one personality to another of one person. Why do you add "more" though it violates a general rule?

Best regards...:)
 

Francois

Senior Member
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Jun 15, 2004
A corollary is: two-syllable words not ending with y get 'more' and 'most'.
Hence 'more clever'.
'cleverer' doesn't exist.

FRC
 

Casiopea

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nautes20 said:
I learned we add "more" to clever in case we compare one personality to another of one person. Why do you add "more" though it violates a general rule?

Best regards...:)
See FRC's post.

The Rule
Add -er to one-syllable words:
One-syllable word: wise, wiser (OK)

Add more to two-syllable words:
Two-syllable word: cle'ver, more clever (OK) *cleverer (Not OK)

Exception to the Rule
Add -er to two-syllable words ending in -y:
Two-syllable word ending in -y: happy, happier (OK)
 
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