Elder to?

Question

Is it possible to use comparative adjective elder* with *to ? Elder to me, elder to her etc. instead of older than me older than her etc? (To describe relation within a family.)
Is there any adjective in English which will take to* instead of *than in comparative form?
There are certain adjectives whcih take *to* like superior, inferior, junior, senior etc. Are they comparative in Latin? Kris

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Is it possible to use comparative adjective elder* with *to ? Elder to me, elder to her etc. instead of older than me older than her etc? (To describe relation within a family.)[/nq]
No. You might say "I have an elder sister and a younger brother", or "I have a sister who is older than me and a brother who is younger".

Usenet · Answer

In alt.english.usage on 3 Mar 2004 09:56:38 -0800
[nq:1]Is it possible to use comparative adjective elder* with *to ? Elder[/nq]
I don't like it at all. People whose native language is something else might use such things by translating directly from another language.
[nq:1]to me, elder to her etc. instead of older than me older than her etc? (To describe relation within a family.) Is there any adjective in English which will take to* instead of *than in comparative form?[/nq]
Meaning old? I don't think so, but I could be wrong.
[nq:1]There are certain adjectives whcih take *to* like superior, inferior, junior, senior etc. Are they comparative in Latin?[/nq]
They are the exact Latin words, taken straight into English. And yes, they are comparitive. That's why they end in -ior instead of -issimus.
Compare with ulterior, also in English, and peior (worse), melior (better, as in ameliorate), and many more, none of which come to mind.
[nq:1]Kris[/nq]
s/ meirman If you are emailing me please
say if you are posting the same response.
Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis, 7 years
Chicago, 6 years
Brooklyn NY 12 years
Baltimore 20 years

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Is it possible to use comparative adjective elder* with *to ? Elder to me, elder to her etc. instead of older than me older than her etc? (To describe relation within a family.)[/nq]
If by "Is it possible?" you mean "Will the result be idiomatic English?" then answer is No.
[nq:1]Is there any adjective in English which will take to* instead of *than in comparative form?[/nq]
The answer is not hard to find.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Is it possible to use comparative adjective elder* with *to ? Elder[/nq]
"I have three sisters; Mary, Betty, and Sue. Mary is elder to us all."

Elder in this sense denotes to me a feeling of respect to Mary which is held by all the rest.
Mike
I express no opinion as to the comma after 'Betty'. My boss tells me to grade off if it's not there.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]"I have three sisters; Mary, Betty, and Sue. Mary is elder to us all." Elder in this sense denotes to ... express no opinion as to the comma after 'Betty'. My boss tells me to grade off if it's not there.[/nq]
What does "grade off" mean? Take points off, or ignore, or simply comment, without penalizing the student?

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Is it possible to use comparative adjective elder* with *to ? Elder[/nq]
1. Elder than X is idiomatic;Elder to X is wrong.
2. You should also consider that the wordElder is dying out, superseded by Older
(which has the same syntax.)

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]"I have three sisters; Mary, Betty, and Sue. Mary is elder to us all."My question pertains to this sentence. Is ... this sense denotes to me a feeling of respect to Mary which is held by all the rest.Await your reply[/nq]
Kris

Usenet · Answer

In alt.english.usage on 4 Mar 2004 09:34:09 -0800
[nq:2]"I have three sisters; Mary, Betty, and Sue. Mary is elder to us all."[/nq]
[nq:1]My question pertains to this sentence. Is this a correct sentence? Is[/nq]
I don't know. One reason that it doesn't sound so bad may be just that it sounds like, "Mary is mother to us all". Since as you say, elder is also a noun, this would make sense. That she is an elder to all of us. She is an elder and all of us think so. Does it mean Mary is elder than Betty and Sue? Don's right. People say older now.
[nq:1]it idiomatic English? Elder as an adjective is comparative alone, isn't it? Otherwise elder is nown. Then it denotes respect. IS THIS SENTENCE NATURAL FOR A NATIVE USER?[/nq]
[nq:2]Elder in this sense denotes to me a feeling of respect to Mary which is held by all the rest.[/nq]
[nq:1]Await your reply Kris[/nq]
s/ meirman If you are emailing me please
say if you are posting the same response.
Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis, 7 years
Chicago, 6 years
Brooklyn NY 12 years
Baltimore 20 years

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]1. Elder than X is idiomatic; Elder to X is wrong.[/nq]
This is, I think, too generous. MWDEU notes that "'elder' is not used to make comparisons with 'than' (as in 'she was elder than her sister'). It is, however...used to make comparisons with 'of'" (with the example of "...the elder of the two daughters" from 1986).
[nq:1]2. You should also consider that the word Elder is dying out, superseded by Older (which has the same syntax.)[/nq]
Bingo! The word is, of not obslete, at least showing signs of obslescence. I wouldn't use it except in a few quasi-set expressions such as "elder statesman" or "elder brother". The vast majority of the time, 'older' is the better choice.
Richard R. Hershberger

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Bingo! The word is, of not obslete, at least showing signs of obslescence. I wouldn't use it except in a few quasi-set expressions such as "elder statesman" or "elder brother". The vast majority of the time, 'older' is the better choice.[/nq]
"Elder" has for over a century been largely confined, with a few set exceptions such as "elder statesman", to the making of age distinctions within the context of a family but within that context it is not, nor should it be, obsolescent, for it allows useful distinctions.
As Fowler pointed out long ago, there is a generally sensed distinction between "my older cousin" and "my elder cousin": the former is one older but not necessarily (or likely) the oldest there is, whereas the latter is the very oldest of all the older cousins. Or, in another example, "I have an elder brother" means a brother born before me, whereas "I have an older brother" suggests a brother born before the other brother of whom we were speaking or of whom you know. In short, the use of "older" where "elder" would be the simple choice highlights a distinction in sense from the simple meaning "born before".

That distinction may not be felt as distinctly nowadays as once it was, but we should not be in any rush to wipe it out altogether.

Elder to?

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