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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage
- No such word as 'oftener'
You can't just add the 'er' suffix to any old word.
Its 'more often,' not 'oftener.'
Its 'more often,' not 'oftener.'
Top answer
nemo wrote on 18 Nov 2004: [nq:1]You can't just add the 'er' suffix to any old word. Parker* *in the sense in which the Dialect Society oftenest employs the word dialect Louise Pound* *now and then he finds adventure by imagining it, oftener he transforms his own experience Walter Lippmann (/quote) Nice try, but no cigar. Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor For email, replace numbers with English alphabet.
- nemo wrote on 18 Nov 2004: [nq:1]You can't just add the 'er' suffix to any old word.
- Parker* *in the sense in which the Dialect Society oftenest employs the word dialect Louise Pound* *now and then he finds adventure by imagining it, oftener he transforms his own experience Walter Lippmann (/quote) Nice try, but no cigar.
- Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor For email, replace numbers with English alphabet.
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43 Answers
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nemo wrote on 18 Nov 2004:
[nq:1]You can't just add the 'er' suffix to any old word. Its 'more often,' not 'oftener.'[/nq]
W3NID:
(quote)
Main Entry:1often
Function:adverb
Inflected Form:usually -er/-est
Etymology:Middle English, alteration of oft
on many occasions : in many instances or places numerous plates often in color* : not seldom : FREQUENTLY *are often
[nq:1]You can't just add the 'er' suffix to any old word. Its 'more often,' not 'oftener.'[/nq]
W3NID:
(quote)
Main Entry:1often
Function:adverb
Inflected Form:usually -er/-est
Etymology:Middle English, alteration of oft
on many occasions : in many instances or places numerous plates often in color* : not seldom : FREQUENTLY *are often
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[nq:1]You can't just add the 'er' suffix to any old word.[/nq]
No, but there are some words you can use either way.
[nq:1]Its 'more often,' not 'oftener.'[/nq]
The oftener you say that, the tempteder I am to use it.
Here are others who already have (from Mastertexts.com's 103 hits):
Jane Austen: much oftener than she moved her needle
Charlotte Bronte: my hear
No, but there are some words you can use either way.
[nq:1]Its 'more often,' not 'oftener.'[/nq]
The oftener you say that, the tempteder I am to use it.
Here are others who already have (from Mastertexts.com's 103 hits):
Jane Austen: much oftener than she moved her needle
Charlotte Bronte: my hear
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[nq:1]You can't just add the 'er' suffix to any old word. Its 'more often,' not 'oftener.'[/nq]
Why did you post this? The first sentence, though accurate, is hardly news. The second is simply wrong.
As to the second sentence, 132,000 uses on Google ought to be enough to establish that you are wrong about "oftener." If you prefer the authority of a dictionary, you'll find "oftener" listed
Why did you post this? The first sentence, though accurate, is hardly news. The second is simply wrong.
As to the second sentence, 132,000 uses on Google ought to be enough to establish that you are wrong about "oftener." If you prefer the authority of a dictionary, you'll find "oftener" listed
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[nq:2]You can't just add the 'er' suffix to any old word. Its 'more often,' not 'oftener.'[/nq]
[nq:1]Why did you post this? The first sentence, though accurate, is hardly news. The second is simply wrong. As to ... although/althougher, finest/finester, irrefregable/irrefregabler. But what I find remarkable is how many different kinds of words can have an "er" appended.[/nq]
To me, "oftene
[nq:1]Why did you post this? The first sentence, though accurate, is hardly news. The second is simply wrong. As to ... although/althougher, finest/finester, irrefregable/irrefregabler. But what I find remarkable is how many different kinds of words can have an "er" appended.[/nq]
To me, "oftene
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[nq:1]the Concise OED [/nq]
That page at that URL says it gives me an entry from the Compact Oxford English Dictionary , not the Concise .
They're different dictionaries. A scale comparison is suggested by the prices at Amazon:
Concise .95
Compact .85
But I suspect some Web-site editor screwed up, and the entry really is from the Concise .
The Compact Oxford English Di
That page at that URL says it gives me an entry from the Compact Oxford English Dictionary , not the Concise .
They're different dictionaries. A scale comparison is suggested by the prices at Amazon:
Concise .95
Compact .85
But I suspect some Web-site editor screwed up, and the entry really is from the Concise .
The Compact Oxford English Di
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[nq:2]the Concise OED [/nq]
[nq:1]That page at that URL says it gives me an entry from the Compact Oxford English Dictionary , not ... to be the micrographically reduced edition of the full 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition ( OED2 ).(snip)[/nq]
Confusingly enough, OUP has two different Compact dictionaries. One is the Compact OED you mention. The other, which is the source
[nq:1]That page at that URL says it gives me an entry from the Compact Oxford English Dictionary , not ... to be the micrographically reduced edition of the full 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition ( OED2 ).(snip)[/nq]
Confusingly enough, OUP has two different Compact dictionaries. One is the Compact OED you mention. The other, which is the source
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[nq:2]You can also add "er" to a verb to create ... many different kinds of words can have an "er" appended.[/nq]
[nq:1]To me, "oftener" and even "betterer" are fine in some contexts, just as long as one doesn't say "more oftener" or "more betterer".[/nq]
Betterer? Are you serious?
[nq:1]To me, "oftener" and even "betterer" are fine in some contexts, just as long as one doesn't say "more oftener" or "more betterer".[/nq]
Betterer? Are you serious?
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[nq:2]No, but there are some words you can use either ... must have stopped oftener to stretch out on the grass[/nq]
[nq:1]Anybody born in the 20th century?[/nq]
Do you know what Mastertexts.com is?
Best Donna Richoux
[nq:1]Anybody born in the 20th century?[/nq]
Do you know what Mastertexts.com is?
Best Donna Richoux
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[nq:2]No, but there are some words you can use either ... Here are others who already have (from Mastertexts.com's 103 hits):[/nq]
(snip)
[nq:1]Anybody born in the 20th century?[/nq]
Probably not in Mastertexts, seeing as how it's all public domain stuff and therefore mostly old. MWDEU says
Our recent evidence shows both forms in use, with more often and most often used about twice
(snip)
[nq:1]Anybody born in the 20th century?[/nq]
Probably not in Mastertexts, seeing as how it's all public domain stuff and therefore mostly old. MWDEU says
Our recent evidence shows both forms in use, with more often and most often used about twice
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