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Hi All,   is it grammatically correct to say:    His jacket is "more different" than hers?    It sounds off, but i dont know how to explain why it sounds weird.THanks!

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Welcome to English Forums, Baraha. Thanks for joining us! [<:o)]

I'm sure someone will come along with a more technical answer.

To me, "different" is an absolute, like "round," or "perfect," or "empty."

Granted, people say "This one is rounder than that one," but I call it incorrect.
Either a thing is different, or it's not.

On the other hand, as a noun, we can quantify "the difference." There is more difference here than there.

Returning to the adjectives, we can say more nearly empty, more nearly perfect, more nearly round; but more nearly different certainly does sound strange.

Best wishes, - A.

Baraha · Answer

Thank you for the warm welcome and your answer Avangi!

Weirdest thing happened because I signed up a month ago and now I can't log in with my previous username and password. Even my profile picture was gone.

Anyway, i'll keep that in mind. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction about it being an absolute, and for the examples as well!

Avangi · Answer

I have a hard time keeping up with the mechanics of the site.  I've been here only a few years, but the software has been through several iterations.  I notice complaints from new members who find things don't always work as predicted, but there have been so many changes I never know how to advise them.  Sorry about that!  <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Wvic123 · Answer

Hi, yes it does sound strange. How about 'Her jacket is very different to hers'

Avangi · Answer

(I tried to avoid this, but I'm trapped.)
Yes, but "very different [when] compared to hers."

We certainly say, "This guy is very different," in the same way we would say, "This guy is very strange." Is "strange" an absolute? Are "very strange" and "very different" simply casual expressions?
Can we say, "I think Stravinsky's music is stranger than Bartok's" ?? We surely say, "Truth is stranger than fiction." !!

I think we need more opinions here!

CalifJim · Answer

BarahaHis jacket is "more different" than hers?

No.

If you mean that his jacket is different because it's unusual or striking, you should probably avoid confusion and just use the more exact word.

His jacket is [striking / colorful / ...]. His jacket is more [striking / colorful / ...] than hers.
__________

But if you are using different as 'not the same', you've got more interesting problems.

Larry's jacket is different from Barry's jacket. = Larry's jacket is not the same as Barry's jacket.

Once you've established that two things are not the same, they can't get any more that way!
__________________

You can go crazy with something like this, however, but I'm afraid people will stop listening to you if you use this sort of sentence very much:

Larry's jacket is more different from Barry's jacket than Lucy's jacket is (different) from Jane's jacket.

CJ

Wvic123 · Answer

No there are strange people , and then there are very strange people, believe me <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/2.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/2.gif' alt='Emotion: big smile'/>

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