0
Old Eladio Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

Senior; Junior / First, Second... (comparatives?, superlatives?, both?)

1b00Are the words senior and junior comparatives or superlatives?:02b02br
02br
01b02b02br
02br
01b00He’s the senior partner. 02b00(senior as a superlative?)02br
02br
01b00Senior pupils have certain privileges. Only one manager is senior to me now. 02b00(senior as a comparative?)02br
02br
01b00She married a man seven years her junior. 02b00(junior as a comparative?)02br
02br
01b00An office junior is someone who has a low rank in an organization or profession. 02b00(junior as a comparative?)02br
02br
01b00Tom junior has to go to class today. 02b00(junior as a superlative?)02br
02br
01b02b02br
02br
01b00Are the words “first, second,…, forty fifth,..., etc” considered as comparatives ones?02b02br
02br
01b02b02br
02br
01b00Old Eladio02b02br
02br
01b02b02br
02br
01b01i00Old chemists never die, they only reach the equilibrium.02i02b02br
02br
0-
  

Top answer

:12b 12br 12br 11b 12b 12br 12br 11b 10He’s the senior partner. )12br 12br 11b 10Senior pupils have certain privileges. Only one manager is senior to me now.

— Old Eladio

  • :12b 12br 12br 11b 12b 12br 12br 11b 10He’s the senior partner.
  • )12br 12br 11b 10Senior pupils have certain privileges.
  • Only one manager is senior to me now.
  • )12br 12br 11b 10She married a man seven years her junior.
  • )12br 12br 11b 10An office junior is someone who has a low rank in an organization or profession.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

15 Answers
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Old Eladio12cite11b10Are the words senior and junior comparatives or superlatives?:12b12br
12br
11b12b12br
12br
11b10He’s the senior partner. 12b10(senior as a superlative?)12br
12br
11b10Senior pupils have certain priv
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Old Eladio12cite11b10Are the words senior and junior comparatives or superlatives?:12b12br
12br
11b12b12br
12br
11b10He’s the senior partner. 12b10(senior as a superlative?)12br
12br
11b10Senior pupils have certain priv
0
0
0Goodman: "I never thought of them in “superlative” and "comparative" terms"02br
02br
00Thank you, Gooman. Anyway, I think junior and senior could be considered as comparatives or superlatives. Could anyone of our most EF grammatical lovers say something about it?02br
02br
00AND WHAT ABOUT 01b01i01u00first, second02u02i
0
0
0O.E.,02br
02br
00By definition of the words, it’s self-evident which is more superlative. But it’s a matter of perception, as long as the user understands the difference and how to use it accordingly in a given context, it’s fine. As I stated, I never thought of them in the context you described. 02br
02br
0-
0
0
0 Hello Eladio02br
02br
00As you know well, "junior" and "senior" come from the comparatives of Latin adjectives for young ("juvenis") and old ("senem"). So they have comparative sense per se, though in the frame of English grammar, they are not classed as comparatives of adjectives. 02br
02br
00OED says "senior" can be taken as a quasi superlative when it
0
0
0Paco: I love your comments. As you surely know I continue being always the same former “Eladio” although now I appear as Old Eladio. In my modest opinion you’re one of the best EF English-Grammar’s lovers. In fact you’re very (take this in a kind-praise way) obsessive with grammar and you take very seriously the EF posts in order to teach us by the best way you can.02br
02br
0
0
0
0 Hello　Eladio02br
02br
00Thanks for the reply. Your compliment makes me blush a little. 02br
02br
00By the way, we might take "2 years" in "He is 2 years my senior" as a kind of adverbial, because they say also like "He is in every way my superior". Here "in every way" is definitely an adverbial.02br
02br
00paco 0-
0
0
0Hi guys,02br
02br
01font00Is “junior" only used for male people? Senior for both?02font00 Both words can be used for both genders.02br
02br
00Clive 0-
0
0
In naming sons after their fathers, when does a Jr. become a Second? Would it be when their is a third in succession?
0
0
Hello Anon,

Your post really isn't related to the prior questions, which are also quite old, so it's best to start a new thread.

As I undestand it, a "Jr" doesn't become a "II."

If John Paul Jones has a son, Steven Jones, and Steven Jones names HIS son John Paul Jones, then, the grandson is Joahn Paul Jones, II.

Jr. stays Jr all his life, I believe.
0

Related Questions