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Olgaa Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
LESS in comparison of adjectives
Is the word "less" used with short adjectives as with long ones?
For example, we can say "She is less clever/beautiful/... than her friend."
But can we say: "This ladder is less short than that one." OR "This girl is less nice than that one". etc?
Or in such cases adjectives-opposites are usually used: "This girl is uglier than that one" etc though the shade of meaning differes in these examples.
For example, we can say "She is less clever/beautiful/... than her friend."
But can we say: "This ladder is less short than that one." OR "This girl is less nice than that one". etc?
Or in such cases adjectives-opposites are usually used: "This girl is uglier than that one" etc though the shade of meaning differes in these examples.
Top answer
Olga: excellent question. According to some books, there is no one "rule" to cover your questions. But THE GRAMMAR BOOK says that you should try not to say "Mary is less tall than John" because many native speakers would consider it "awkward" and maybe rude.
- Olga: excellent question.
- According to some books, there is no one "rule" to cover your questions.
- But THE GRAMMAR BOOK says that you should try not to say "Mary is less tall than John" because many native speakers would consider it "awkward" and maybe rude.
- So you may say (1) Mary is shorter than John or (2) Mary is not as tall as John.
- S.
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2 Answers
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Olga: excellent question. According to some books, there is no one "rule" to cover your questions. But THE GRAMMAR BOOK says that you should try not to say "Mary is less tall than John" because many native speakers would consider it "awkward" and maybe rude. So you may say (1) Mary is shorter than John or (2) Mary is not as tall as John. Or you could even say, "John is taller than Mary." (P.S. "
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