The previous five High English grammar quizzes on comparatives have concentrated on the way to use comparatives and superlatives and how adjectives and adverbs are converted into comparatives and superlatives. This final quiz on comparatives will show you how to go about avoiding errors whilst using them.
When using comparatives we could be committing some basic errors, which may relate to grammar or context. Look at this sentence:
‘The population of India is less than China.’
[readmore]Did you notice anything wrong? You may feel the sentence is all right but on closer examination we can see something is amiss. If you look at the first part of the sentence, it clearly says ‘population of India’ whereas the second part of the sentence just says ‘lesser than China.’ How can we go about avoiding these errors? Here are some correct versions of the same sentence:
‘The population of India is less than China’s population.’
‘The population of India is less than that of China.’
The populations of the two countries are being compared and hence the reference to population must be made in the case of both countries. Let us look at another example:
‘Gold is more valuable than any other metals.’
This sentence is incorrect because in comparative sentences we should use a singular noun after ‘any other’. The correct sentence would be:
‘Gold is more valuable than any other metal.’
Several other conventions need to be followed. Only an adjective or adverb in the comparative degree can be used before ‘than’. For instance, the sentence ‘Bangalore is cold than Mumbai’ is incorrect and the correct sentence would be ‘Bangalore is colder than Mumbai.’
More often than not, we tend to make mistakes by using the comparative form when there is no need to or when a comparison is not implied. For instance, ‘in our office the number of female employees is less’ is a wrong usage as there is no implied comparison. Thus, the correct usage would be ‘in our office the number of female employees is small.’
The quiz on grammar that follows helps you to learn how to go about avoiding some of the most common errors that people often make when using comparatives and superlatives.
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Remember that only an adjective or adverb in the comparative degree can be used before ‘than.’ Here 'philanthropic' is a word which uses 'more' rather than '-ER'. In option 2 we have to use the comparative degree. In options 3 and 4 the comparatives are incorrect
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Remember that a singular noun (politician) has to be used after 'any other.' In options 1 and 2 we cannot use the base form or the superlative form before 'than.' In option 3 'more smarter' is wrong
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In this sentence there is no comparison implied and hence the uses of 'lesser 'in option 1 and 'smaller' in option 4, are incorrect. . In options 3 the superlative is used when no comparison is made
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Remember that in comparative sentences involving two people or things 'of' is used and not 'from.' Note that we use an adjective or adverb in the comparative form to compare two people or things
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Remember that in comparative sentences involving more than two people or things 'of' is used and not 'from.' Note that we use an adjective or adverb in the superlative form to compare more than two people or things
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Remember, it is incorrect to use comparative and superlative forms when no comparison is implied
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The two-wheeler population of the two countries is being compared and hence the reference to population must be made in the case of both countries. In the second part of the sentence we have introduced 'that in', which refers to the two-wheeler population
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Remember, in this sentence 'yours' is a form of the possessive case of 'you' used as a predicate adjective whereas 'your' is a form of the possessive case of 'you' used as an attributive adjective. In options 1 and 3 we are using the base form and superlative forms, which are not used when you compare two things. In option 4 'more larger' is a wrong usage
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Remember, we are talking about a particular exhibit and hence the article 'the' has to be used, which is a definite article. In option 1 we are using the comparative form which is incorrect. In the other options the comparative and superlative forms of 'prominent' are incorrect
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Remember, we don't use the superlative when we are comparing two places. In option 2 'further' refers to time, and is the comparative form of the word 'far' when meaning much. In option 3 'farther' refers to distance, and it is the comparative form of the word 'far' when referring to distance. In option 4 both variants of 'far' are used in the same sentence
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