[Grammar] comparison of adjectives

[miwalko]

Some adjectives are clearly gradable, e.g. long, wide, short - longer, wider, shorter. These do not go with 'completely': ?completely long/wide/short.
Other adjectives go well with completely: completely straight/empty/dry. Are these gradable, i.e. can you form comparatives, e.g. straighter, emptier, drier? I have a feeling that it is more natural to say that something is drier than something else (as talking about cakes) but not emptier - things are either empty or not, right? How about straighter?
Thanks.

 

[5jj]

The new road is straighter than the old one seems OK to me. It may not be 100% logical, but it works, as does Since the operation you stand straighter than you did before.

 

[SoothingDave]

Well, "straightness" is something that is routinely specified and measured in manufacturing and construction. So it is less "absolute" a concept than "empty."

 

[charliedeut]

Well, "straightness" is something that is routinely specified and measured in manufacturing and construction. So it is less "absolute" a concept than "empty."

Although I cannot imagine anyone speaking of a "semi-straight wall/road" while I could speak of a "half-empty bottle", however more absolute "empty" is. ;-)

Greetings,

charliedeut

 

[SoothingDave]

I always think of it as half full. ;-)

 

[charliedeut]

I always think of it as half full. ;-)

To the brim!:cheers:

 

[miwalko]

Thank you!