Adjective/ comparative

Adjective/ comparative
Message from jedi56 posted on 12-03-2014 at 19:05:01 (D | E | F)
Hello to everybody,

in test 44392 from this site we can find this explanation:
'clever : the cleverest/ the most clever'
my question is if we can use the same ruler for its comparative form in that way:
'clever : cleverer/ more clever'
Thanks in advance.

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Edited by lucile83 on 12-03-2014 19:21

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Re: Adjective/ comparative from gerondif, posted on 12-03-2014 at 19:48:25 (D | E)
Hello,
adjectives ending in y and er are considered short, let's say up to two syllables normally.

He is happier, heavier, prettier than me.
He is cleverer, tenderer than me.

Now, if you forget about that ending, the two syllables can lead you to:
He is more brilliant and more clever than me. After all it will be understood.

I remember Dan Rather (CBS evening news) reporting from the Berlin Wall when it was brought down in 1991....
"I hope people are more happy now" he said. the rules of communism and comparatives collapsed together for him !

with more syllables than two, more or most might well take over:
This is the most lovely /the loveliest girl I have ever seen.
This is the most extraordinary story I have ever heard! (I have never seen "the extraordinariest story", it must be wrong!!)

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Re: Adjective/ comparative from jedi56, posted on 13-03-2014 at 15:44:31 (D | E)
Hello gerondiff, I always thought this rule was only for adjectives ending in 'y'. I t was a good thing knowing it is the same for the ones ending in 'er'. Thanks a lot.

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