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英语语法:167 Comparatives Versus Superlatives

时间:2010-07-03 02:34来源:互联网 提供网友:飘絮330813   字体: [ ]
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Grammar Girl here.

Your hostess with the mostest, guest-writer Bonnie Trenga, is back for more on comparisons.

In a previous show, we talked about when to use “more” and “most” or the suffixes2 “-er” and “-est” to make comparisons using adjectives and adverbs. In this show, we’ll go a little bit more in depth about comparisons.

Comparatives vs. Superlatives

When you’re comparing items, you need to notice if you’re comparing two things or more than two things.

When you compare two items, you’re using what’s called a comparative, so you use “more” before the adjective or the suffix1 “-er” on the end of it. You can remember that comparatives are for two thing because “comparative” has the sound “pair” in it and a pair is always two things. It's not spelled like “pair” but it sounds like pair.

When you compare three or more items, you’re using a superlative, so you use “most” or the suffix “-est.” You can remember that superlatives are for more than two things because “superlative” has the word “super” in it and when you want a whole bunch of something, you supersize it.

So to think about it loosely, use a comparative when you have a pair of things and a superlative when you have a supersized group (at least more than two).

Now, if you listened to the other show about comparisons, you know when you’re supposed to use which one.* If not, you can always check it out; it's episode 124.

Here's how you would use comparisons and superlatives. If you want to brag3 that you now have more knowledge about grammar than you used to, you’re comparing now and then, which is two items. You might therefore state, “I’ve been listening to Grammar Girl for a while, so my grammar is better than it used to be.” Here, the comparative is “better.” If, on the other hand, you’re comparing yourself with your six cousins, you’re comparing seven people. You might say, “I am the best speller in the family.” Here, the superlative is “best.”

Errors Versus4 Broken Rules

A few errors crop up with comparisons. One common mistake is using a superlative form when you’re comparing only two items. For example, it would be incorrect to say, “It was the tallest of the two buildings.” You are comparing just two buildings, so you should use a comparative, “taller,” not a superlative, “tallest.” A quick and dirty tip to help you remember which suffix goes with which number of items is that “-er” has two letters, and it is for comparing two things; “-est” has three letters, and it is for comparing three or more things.

Sometimes, though, an error of this kind sounds more natural than the grammatically correct version. Take this sentence: “Which house of Congress has the better attendance record?” That technically5 correct sentence sounds odd to me. I’m not sure why, but I would prefer to say, “best attendance record” even though there are only two houses of Congress (1). Perhaps it’s because “best” is becoming more common than “better.” You’ll hear, and probably say, “Put your best foot forward.” Of course we have only two feet, so we should really say “better foot,” but that sounds very strange. Maybe we say “best” because we are speaking figuratively, as in “Do the best you can”; we’re not really talking about actual feet. But we also say, “May the best team win,” usually when only two teams are playing.

So “better” versus “best” is a bit of a conundrum6. Sometimes the ungrammatical way sounds best. And again, I just caught myself using “best” instead of “better” in that sentence. I compared two items, the grammatical way and the ungrammatical way, but I used a superlative. Well, I guess “best” is sometimes the best option, even if it’s not technically correct. In speech, it’s probably fine to let a few “bests” slip out, but in formal writing you might want to use a comparative when it’s called for. If it sounds unnatural7, then rewrite the sentence.

Empty Comparisons

Another error I encounter a lot is what I call an empty comparison, a comparison that doesn’t state explicitly8 what is being compared. For instance, an advertisement that says, “This hard drive is better and faster,” fails to state what is worse and slower. When readers see empty comparisons, they have to guess what the writer means. In this case, I might guess that the ad is promoting a hard drive that is better and faster than a competing model, or perhaps it means better and faster than the previous version of this brand of hard drive. Readers don’t like being in the dark, so be sure to include the other half of your comparison when you use a comparative.

That’s about it as far as comparisons go.

 


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1 suffix AhMzMc     
n.后缀;vt.添后缀
参考例句:
  • We add the suffix "ly" to make the adjective "quick" into the adverb " quickly ".我们在形容词“ quick”后加“ly” 构成副词“quickly”。
  • It described the meaning of suffix array and also how to built it.它描述的含义,后缀数组以及如何建立它。
2 suffixes aa1fb6808a200d35fffc21ecb13cfdd7     
n.后缀,词尾( suffix的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Many domain name suffixes have failed to gain general popularity. 很多域名后缀没有获得一般的通用性。 来自互联网
  • For example, consider the use of prefixes and suffixes. 例如,那前缀和后缀的使用来说。 来自互联网
3 brag brag     
v./n.吹牛,自夸;adj.第一流的
参考例句:
  • He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
  • His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。
4 versus wi7wU     
prep.以…为对手,对;与…相比之下
参考例句:
  • The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
  • The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。
5 technically wqYwV     
adv.专门地,技术上地
参考例句:
  • Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说,这是最先进的设备。
  • The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说,西红柿是一种水果,尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。
6 conundrum gpxzZ     
n.谜语;难题
参考例句:
  • Let me give you some history about a conundrum.让我给你们一些关于谜题的历史。
  • Scientists had focused on two explanations to solve this conundrum.科学家已锁定两种解释来解开这个难题。
7 unnatural 5f2zAc     
adj.不自然的;反常的
参考例句:
  • Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗?
  • She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。
8 explicitly JtZz2H     
ad.明确地,显然地
参考例句:
  • The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
  • SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条,清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
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