Multiple uses of "more": more experience, more knowledge, more successful, more competent

Question

I have made up the A version of the sentences below.

(1a) My uncle and I are both accountant. However, he is more successful and more competent than I.

(1b) My uncle and I are both accountant. However, he is more successful and competent than I. (my friends' version)

(2a) If I gain more experience and more knowledge, I will become a more successful and more competent teacher.

(2b) If I gain more experience and knowledge, I will become a more successful and competent teacher. (my friends' version)

My non-native English speaking friends think I only need the first "more" in both A versions. In my opinion, I do a "more" for each adjective that follows. I think my friends' versions are wrong. For example, (2b) suggests I will gain more experience but not knowledge, so I will be more successful but not more competent.

What is your opinion? Thank you very much for your explanation. I greatly appreciate your help.

GPY · Accepted Answer

In terms of use of "more", both your and your friends' versions are possible. In (1b) it is impossible to interpret "competent" as not governed by "more" because it is not possible to say "he is competent than I". (2b) could theoretically mean you gain more experience and you also gain knowledge, but in practice we interpret it as meaning that you gain more experience and you also gain more knowledge. Similarly for the second part of (2b).

ansonguy For example, (2b) suggests I will gain more experience but not knowledge, so I will be more successful but not more competent.

This interpretation is impossible.

ansonguy(1a) My uncle and I are both accountants.

ansonguythan I

This is formally correct according to some, but it risks sounding pedantic to many people's ears. In ordinary modern English most people naturally say "than me" or "than I am".

ansonguymore successful and competent

Stylistically I prefer "more competent and successful", since success logically follows competence, but this is a picky point.

Anonymous · Answer

It was answered perfectly by the teacher. I just want to pay your attention to something important. They are both correct as stated. You want to repeat "more" and your friends see that using one "more" is enough.

I suggest you to read loudly this version in particular:

(2a) If I gain more experience and more knowledge, I will become a more successful and more competent teacher.

On one hand, regardless of being correct, don't you feel that you used "more" a lot? When I read it, I feel like to say: "more and more and more". In spoken language, it's fine, it sounds natural, it seems to me you want to emphasize your view, I also could use it, but in the formal writing, if you you are asked to write an essay, for instance, they would most likely take "repeated words " into consideration especially when there are other ways to express the same meaning.

On the other hand, the sentence was connected by the coordinating conjunction "and", in logic, this means addition. 1+1= 2 You couldn't omit one of them logically because of the "+".

Ex:

I have a book and pens.

It means, I have both of them. Because of the conjunction"and". You couldn't say I only have a book because I wrote it first.

-I have a book and pens. =

-I have pens and a book.

He gains experience and knowledge. = He gains knowledge and experience.

So

He gains more experience and knowledge

=

He gains more experience and more knowledge.

"more" will include "knowledge as well, because If you don't need knowledge, you will not include it by writing "and" conjunction in the first place.

I'm talking according to logic more than grammar. and you can consider it my opinion too.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

ansonguy I think my friends' versions are wrong.

No, they are not only correct, but superior for written English.

(1b) My uncle and I are both accountants. However, he is more successful and competent than me.

ansonguyFor example, (2b) suggests I will gain more experience but not knowledge, so I will be more successful but not more competent.

(2b) If I gain more experience and knowledge, I will become a more successful and competent teacher.

This means "more experience and more knowledge" and "more successful and more competent."

Your meaning is written this way:

If I gain more experience but not as much knowledge, I will become a more successful but not as competent a teacher.

You need "but" to contrast the different levels of knowledge and competency. "And" as a conjunction joins equally, without any contrast.

(cross-posted)

Multiple uses of "more": more experience, more knowledge, more successful, more competent

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