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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Closer or closest, that is the question
Hi
A friend has questioned my use of English and there is a £50 bet at stake.
We were putting golf balls on a putting course and proximity to the hole being played with the first putt determines who chooses the next hole, assuming a tie in terms of the total number of putts required to sink the ball on the currently played hole.
We drew the hole in terms of played strokes but my friend's initial putt was nearest to the hole. I said 'you were closest'. He said that my grammar/terminology was wrong and I should have said 'you were closer'.
Can someone please confirm that......
1) In the set of given circumstances outlined above, which of 'you were closest' or 'you were closer' is most acceptable.
2) 'you were closest' is acceptable or is nonsense.
Thank you
Rob
A friend has questioned my use of English and there is a £50 bet at stake.
We were putting golf balls on a putting course and proximity to the hole being played with the first putt determines who chooses the next hole, assuming a tie in terms of the total number of putts required to sink the ball on the currently played hole.
We drew the hole in terms of played strokes but my friend's initial putt was nearest to the hole. I said 'you were closest'. He said that my grammar/terminology was wrong and I should have said 'you were closer'.
Can someone please confirm that......
1) In the set of given circumstances outlined above, which of 'you were closest' or 'you were closer' is most acceptable.
2) 'you were closest' is acceptable or is nonsense.
Thank you
Rob
Top answer
Rule: close (one item); closer (two items); closest (three or more). Practice: many use the superlative when the comparative is called for, so much, in fact, that I often don't notice the mistake.
- Rule: close (one item); closer (two items); closest (three or more).
- Practice: many use the superlative when the comparative is called for, so much, in fact, that I often don't notice the mistake.
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4 Answers
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Rule: close (one item); closer (two items); closest (three or more).
Practice: many use the superlative when the comparative is called for, so much, in fact, that I often don't notice the mistake.
Practice: many use the superlative when the comparative is called for, so much, in fact, that I often don't notice the mistake.
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Hi Philip
Thank you for your answer.
So in the environment outlined above, a physical situation rather than a written situation, would 'you were closest' be acceptable although not grammatically perfect?
Thank you for your answer.
So in the environment outlined above, a physical situation rather than a written situation, would 'you were closest' be acceptable although not grammatically perfect?
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I would not correct a student who said 'closest', but I would correct it in the written form.
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If you are comparing where his ball is to where yours is, it is closer. When comparing two things use er, more than two est.
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