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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Degree of comparisons
When one has an adjective with two syllables e.g. easy, tidy, happy one adds (i)er =easier, tidier, happier when comparing. But what happens when one adds the prefex "un" and the word then has three syllables uneasy, untidy, unhappy. I have read in some dictionaries uneasier, untidier, unhappier, but according to the grammaltical rule three-syllabled words are compared with "more" and "most". What is now correct???
Top answer
3-syllable adjectives and adverbs generally form their comparative and superlative with more and most. There is no absolute rule but usage and facility.
- 3-syllable adjectives and adverbs generally form their comparative and superlative with more and most.
- There is no absolute rule but usage and facility.
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6 Answers
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3-syllable adjectives and adverbs generally form their comparative and superlative with more and most. There is no absolute rule but usage and facility.
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Mister Micawber3-syllable adjectives and adverbs generally form their comparative and superlative with more and most. There is no absolute rule but usage and facility.what do you mean by "no absolute rule but usage and facility
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It means that there are no formation rules. 'More good' is sometimes used, as are 'unhappier' and 'more unhappy'. Common usage is one guideline-- what form is generally being used-- and facility is another-- which form (e.g. quieter or more quiet) sounds better and flows more smoothly in the context.
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Is ist always the case that when two syllable words receive a third syllable because of a prefext that common usage and facility guideline applies?
I have another example where the adjective only has two syllables e.g. I got a meagre portion of food at the restaurant yesterday. Today the portion was even meagrer(?) / more meagre(?) Does the common usage and facility guideline also appl
I have another example where the adjective only has two syllables e.g. I got a meagre portion of food at the restaurant yesterday. Today the portion was even meagrer(?) / more meagre(?) Does the common usage and facility guideline also appl
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Yes. 'Meagerer' is hard to pronounce clearly and I think slower to be understood. I suspect that 'more meager' is the popular choice.
The Contemporary AmE corpus contains 7 'more meager' and only one 'meagerer'– which appears in a rather constrained structure: ' The more credits he listed, the meagerer they sounded. '
Ms Google discovers roughly t
The Contemporary AmE corpus contains 7 'more meager' and only one 'meagerer'– which appears in a rather constrained structure: ' The more credits he listed, the meagerer they sounded. '
Ms Google discovers roughly t
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Dear Mister Micawber,
thankyou for helping me. I agree that meagrer is difficult to pronounce (especially with the british spelling version)!
thankyou for helping me. I agree that meagrer is difficult to pronounce (especially with the british spelling version)!
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