Any more than ?

Question

From Mister Micawber : 'The' refers to some specific rubbish. We cannot say that it is wrong in this isolated sentence, any more than we can attack 'the' before 'bin'.

Question 1 :I have never heard people said it before. How to use any more than ? Can you please give me any other examples ?
Question 2 :Is my grammar in question 1 correct ?
Thank you .

RandomGuy · Accepted Answer

Hi, outrageous,

It's used to make a comparison, e.g., I don't like it any more than you do, meaning I dislike it just as much as you do. In MM's sentence, it's more of an emphatic way of saying We can't say that both uses of "the" in the sentence are wrong.

outrageousIs my grammar in question 1 correct ?

It's a bit messy.

I have never heard anyone use the phrase before. How do you use it? Can you please give me any other examples?

Outrageous · Answer

Thanks for replying .
Question 1 : I can't agree with you anymore. / I can't agree with you more. / I can't agree with you more than I can .
Are they mean the same things ?

Question 2 : Can I say : I like it any more than you like .=> It means " I like it as much as you like" ?
Or we can only use "not.............any more than" ?

Question 3 : We don't need A any more than we need B . =>It means we don't need A and B .
What if I write "We don't need A any more than we don't need B ." or "We need A any more than we don't need B." . Do they still have same meaning as "we don't need A and B. " ?

RandomGuy · Answer

outrageousQuestion 1 : I can't agree with you anymore. / I can't agree with you more. / I can't agree with you more than I can .
Are they mean the same things ?

No. The first means that you can't agree with me any longer (which is obviously not the intended meaning), the second sounds tad unidiomatic, and the third is ungrammatical. Say I couldn't agree with you more.

outrageousQuestion 2 : Can I say : I like it any more than you like .=> It means " I like it as much as you like" ?
Or we can only use "not.............any more than" ?

No good. Say I like it as much as you do.

outrageousQuestion 3 : We don't need A any more than we need B . =>It means we don't need A and B .

Yes, but you should say We don't need A and B.

outrageousWhat if I write "We don't need A any more than we don't need B ." or "We need A any more than we don't need B." . Do they still have same meaning as "we don't need A and B. " ?

It's practically gibberish. You are making simple statements confusing and unreadable. If you mean to say We don't need A and B, just say that.

Outrageous · Answer

Thanks for your explaination .
Question 1 : So do you think this sentence is correct : "I like it any more than you do." ? Or you mean that it is not good to say it ? So people usually use "not .......any more than " ?

Question 2 :Why does " I can not agree with you more than I can." ungrammatical ?
Then how about this sentence "My parents can't love me any more than they do . "

Question 3 : I have heard him say just now . Is this correct ?

New question : I can do it .=> I have the ability to do it .
I could do it .=> I properly can do . Are they correct ?

Thank you very much . Please correct me if I have done any mistakes or have wrote something unidiomatic .

RandomGuy · Answer

outrageousQuestion 1 : So do you think this sentence is correct : "I like it any more than you do." ? Or you mean that it is not good to say it ? So people usually use "not .......any more than " ?

It's wrong. The phrase any more than is always used with a negative and should be avoided if it causes confusion.

outrageousQuestion 2 :Why does " I can not agree with you more than I can." ungrammatical ?

It should be I cannot agree with you any more than I already do, not can. Such sentences are usually reduced to I couldn't agree with you more.

outrageousThen how about this sentence "My parents can't love me any more than they do . "

It's fine. Still, a native English speaker would be more likely to say My parents couldn't love me more.

outrageousQuestion 3 : I have heard him say just now . Is this correct ?

No. The tense is wrong, and it's incomplete.

I heard him say it just now.
I heard him talk just now.

outrageousNew question : I can do it .=> I have the ability to do it .

Yes.

outrageousI could do it .=> I properly can do . Are they correct ?

I could do it is correct, but I properly can do is not relevant or correct. I could do it may refer to the past or carry an implicit conditional or imply uncertainty. Without context, one can only guess.

outrageousPlease correct me if I have done any mistakes or have wrote something unidiomatic .

Please correct me if I have made any mistakes or have written something unidiomatic.

Outrageous · Answer

Ineffable thanks to you . Thank you .

Outrageous · Answer

Aspara GusNo. The tense is wrong, and it's incomplete.I heard him say it just now.I heard him talk just now.

This is helpful as I used to make this type of mistake .

Something want to confirm with you ,

I have never heard anyone say it before . => Past participle is used because I did not ever hear anyone say it until the moment I spoke this sentence .

I heard him say it . => Past tense is used because of the "action of hearing" happened and finished in the past .

Just want to make sure I really understand it correctly .

Am I ?

RandomGuy · Answer

outrageousI have never heard anyone say it before . => Past participle is used because I did not ever hear anyone say it until the moment I spoke this sentence .

Almost. You did not ever hear anyone say it you heard it.

outrageousI heard him say it . => Past tense is used because of the "action of hearing" happened and finished in the past .

I suppose you could say that. In these kinds of sentences, it's sometimes difficult to determine the difference between the past perfect and the past tense, especially without context.

Outrageous · Answer

Aspara Gus In these kinds of sentences, it's sometimes difficult to determine the difference between the past perfect and the past tense, especially without context.

That is always one of my troubles...

Thank you, Aspara Gus.

Any more than ?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions