comparative...

[nautes20]

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]

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]

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]

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

FRC

 

[Casiopea]

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)