I've never been happier

Question

Hi teachers,"I've never been happier"  Does it mean I wasn't happy before?  Is there a comparison of happiness?ThanksTN

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Hello, TN:

"I have never been happier" = I have never been more happy than I am now. / I am more happy now than in any other

time in my whole life. Maybe I have been happy before, but my happiness now is the greatest happiness that I have ever

experienced in my whole life.

*****

That country has never been stronger. Maybe that country was strong in 2011, but it is now 2012, and that country is stronger now than it has been in any period of time before 2012.

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi James,

Thanks for explaning in a great detail. Is it gramatically correct to say:

"I have never been any happier" or
"I've never been more happier."

Thanks
TN

Anonymous · Answer

"Happier" = more happy. Therefore, if you say "more happier," that is like saying "more more happy."

For example, "Tom is taller than Mona." Not: "Tom is more taller than Mona."

*****

I have read that in older English, the "double comparative" was common. The famous writer Shakespeare wrote:

"With his more braver daughter could control thee [you]." But in 2012, that is considered "bad" English.

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi Anonymous,

Do you mean "I couldn't have been any happier" is correct, but not with "more"?

Thanks
TN

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for the detailed explaination.I truly learnt something there <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' alt='Emotion: wink'/>

I've never been happier

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