Is other a comparative?

Question

Is 'other' a comparative? I don't think so.

If not, than are these wrong or can you use 'Than' after other?
Which is correct and which is wrong? Do I need to change construction?

/ They were killed for no other reason than that their views were different than others.
/ I have other things to do than that.
/ What other thing could they do than sleep at this hour?
/ I wish I'd be able to annoy my neighbors in some other way than by turning the tv up real loud.

The answer I received "Yes, "other" + "than" are used in term comparison constructions."

What does it mean?

BillJ · Accepted Answer

Your examples are all fine.

Other + than are used in certain comparisons. You could think of them as forming a kind of 'unit': remove either one and you lose the comparison. The than ... bit is called the 'comparative complement', and we say that other licences (permits) the than complement.

'Comparative' is a general term for constructions that have to do with comparison. There are several kinds of comparative construction: one distinction is between set comparison and term comparison.

'Set comparison' typically compares members of some set, and their relative position on a scale:

Lisa is the tallest girl in the class.

The comparison here is between the set of girls in the class with respect to height: Lisa occupies a higher position on the scale than all the others.

The other kind, 'term comparison', makes a comparison between a primary term and a secondary term (hence the name 'term comparison').Typically (but not always) the preposition than is used to compare two things or people, for example:

Max is taller than Ed.

Here, the comparison is between Max's height and Ed's height. We don't know exactly how tall either of them is, but we understand that 'Max is x tall (the primary term); Ed is y tall (the secondary term), and x exceeds y. Other only occurs in term comparison, which is why I called your examples 'term comparison constructions'. In your first example, They were killed for no other reason is the primary term, and that their views were different than others is a subordinate clause expressing the secondary term in the comparison.

I've simplified that explanation a tad, but I think it gives a broad idea of why sentences with other + than belong in the kind called 'term comparison'.

BillJ

Fivejedjon · Answer

If set and term comparisons confuse you, anon, you could simply accept that 'other than' is an idiomatic expression that can, depending on context,mean 'except (for)'  - or 'in a different way from'.

Is other a comparative?

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